Until The World Ends
by invalid-reality
Summary: Post Chosen. What if they didn't defeat the First Evil? This is the story of how the world has changed and how, in the most hopeless of situations, love can be found in the last place you ever look for it...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: So this is entirely different than the way I usually write. I needed a tiny change. Just a warning to start us off, this will not be a long story chapter wise and there will be a major character death before it's all over. Regardless, enjoy the rollercoaster ride I'm about to take you guys on and remember to review if you like what you read :)**

* * *

**Chapter One**

It's been twenty days since they had gone into the Hellmouth and tried to defeat the First Evil and the army it brought forth to the world. Far too many lives were lost and it is harder to remember the names of those they lost and easier to remember the ones that were still there with them. Buffy, Xander, Willow, Dawn, Faith, Kennedy, and Giles.

Everyone is incredibly exhausted. Tirelessly fighting day after day, night after night. The world has changed into something that could not even be recreated in any of their worst nightmares. This post-apocalyptic world had become their worst nightmare.

Buffy has been trying without fail to keep everyone going, to keep their spirits up, to help them find some kind of hope that maybe things would get better if they kept trying, kept fighting. She never gives up, never loses hope, never stops and keeps going every single day. The fight to stay alive is definitely beginning to take a toll on her, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Yet, she does her best to hide it from the others, putting on a front, a façade. She feels like it's her job to keep the others alive, to keep _herself_ alive.

Willow has kept to herself; the magic she had used to activate the scythe is still causing her to feel drained even after using the simplest of spells. She doesn't speak much to the others and she barely leaves Kennedy's side. She's become a shell of herself and she's still shaken by the events that had unfolded the day their lives changed forever. And Kennedy has done nothing but be Willow's rock, taking the responsibility of making sure she isn't killed and taking on the responsibility of being the one that goes out looking for more food while Buffy and Faith stay behind to watch over the others.

Xander hasn't gotten over Anya yet. Her death isn't felt just by him, but by all of them. He tirelessly stands at Buffy's side, aiding her in any way that he can. He puts himself in the line of fire, so to speak, to fight to stay alive for another day. He has become Buffy's anchor, backing her up when they decide to move from one location to another, to try to find a safer place to be.

Giles is still Giles, but different in the eyes of the others. His vast knowledge of everything that comes out of the Hellmouth has helped them survive, helped them fight whatever is coming next. He, like Willow, has kept to himself. The days he looks like he has lost all hope in this world, it's Buffy who pulls him back.

Dawn has done nothing but step up to the plate and take whatever is handed to her with ease. To Buffy, Dawn has grown up a considerable amount in just twenty days. She can fight better than she could before, she's become stronger and more aware of her surroundings and whatever is lurking behind the dark shadows around them. She also found a friend in Faith, something that surprised everyone, even her. But Faith has taken the time to train her when Buffy won't and she's taken the time to spend those hours they're hiding out, playing cards and talking to her when nobody else will.

Faith is still in Buffy's shadow, but it doesn't bother her anymore. They're in this together and nobody is better than the other. They needed a leader and Faith knew she wasn't the leader they needed. The leader was always Buffy and she would always be the one to follow in her shadow. She is also the only one who knows that she is the one who carries the slayer line now, not Buffy. It's not as if it matters now that all the potential slayers around the world have been activated, but to her it's what keeps her motivated to get out there every day and fight to stay alive, fight to try to change an unchangeable world.

And the world has truly changed. Gone are those sunny days with bright blue skies. The skies now take on an orange hue during daylight, sometimes making the sky look on fire when the clouds roll in. The nights are blacker than black and no stars ever shine. And it's hot, even the nights. The world has become another hell dimension, one where the First Evil has envisioned for its entire existence. It has become a world where the survivors they've come across have lost the will to live, lost faith in humanity, and no longer believe that anything can be done to bring back the world they once knew.

* * *

Faith sits on the edge of the roof, watching as the red sun rises over the horizon. Today's sunrise marks the official beginning of their twentieth day, but she's been up for hours, waiting for the day to begin. A cigarette dangles from her lips as she loses herself in her thoughts. She tries not to think about the fact that she's been wearing the same clothes for the past three and a half weeks. She tries not to think about how goddamn hungry she is and how the food that Kennedy does manage to find and bring back is never enough and always cold and tastes like shit. And she tries not to think about what will happen later when she goes out on patrol with the others. Every night has been the same story. Go out, try to kill as many Turok-Han as they can only to discover the next night there's twice as many and always something else waiting, something new, something that's come from the hell dimension the First Evil has come from.

"Hey," Buffy says as she crawls out the window and sits next to her on the roof. "You're up early."

"I never went to sleep."

"Oh."

"What's the plan for today, B?" Faith asks tiredly as she takes her eyes off the rising sun to look at her. "We staying or we moving on?"

"It's safe here, so we're staying for now," Buffy replies softly and she pulls her knees towards her chest and sighs heavily, lost in her own thoughts just as Faith was before she came out there.

Here is the Summers' home, twice abandoned in the past twenty days due to far too many Turok-Han crawling all over the place. It was Faith, Kennedy, and Xander who built the barrier around the perimeter of the house, using the cars they found in the streets, wood, just about anything that they could get their hands on. And it was Willow who cast a protection spell on the barrier, keeping most things out. For now.

Faith flicks the cigarette over the edge to the ground below and reaches for her pack inside her jacket pocket. She's running low and she knows that running out to grab more is something that isn't a high priority. Food is, but that's not her job. That job has been left up to Kennedy. Shrugging, she pulls out another and lights it. It's hard for her not to notice Buffy's face scrunch up in disgust as she does either. She doesn't say anything though, she knows better than that. They need to keep things neutral between them and the little things had caused a few fights not that long ago. Faith isn't willing to go through that again and put their group at risk of being separated. Not now or anytime soon.

Things could be a lot worse and she knows it. She's thankful Buffy let her stick around after all hell broke loose down in the Hellmouth. She's never had a chance to tell her that though, not because she didn't have time to talk to Buffy whenever they were alone, it was more because she didn't know _how_ to thank her for letting her stick around. If her presence bothered Buffy, Buffy never did show it, at least not when she was around her at least. They've come a long way and yet they're still treading the thin line of friendship. Faith hated it though, hated the fact that all she ever wanted was for Buffy to accept her, to let her into her life, into her circle of friends. All she ever wanted was for Buffy to love her and she's still a long way from that ever happening.

And that right there is the thing that could destroy her again. She fights it every waking moment of every day along with everything else. Fights her feelings she can never shake when it comes to Buffy. She hates her and she loves her-loves her in more than a friendly way. If Buffy has ever picked up on that and knows how she feels about her, she's never shown it. In fact, Faith has come to realize that Buffy is almost completely devoid of showing any kind of emotion these days. It's pretty disturbing.

"Take my bed," Buffy says as she gets up and heads back to the window.

"Take your bed?" Faith asks, raising an eyebrow since Buffy hadn't given up her bed to anyone since they'd been back at the house.

"It's better than the floor you've been sleeping on. You look like you need a decent sleep, so yes, take my bed and get some sleep, Faith. We need you out there tonight and you fight better after you've slept for more than a couple of hours."

"Thanks, B. Appreciate it more than ya know," Faith says with a smile and watches as Buffy disappears back inside.

Their conversations always went that way, they could talk but it was straight to the point most of the time and never anything too personal. Faith isn't about to let her walls down just like she knows Buffy isn't about to either. Sure, there is a lot she wants to say to Buffy, a lot of which is slowly driving her insane having to hold it inside and experience it all over again, but she knows it'll ruin any and all the progress they've made so far when it comes to each other. It doesn't help that whenever those thoughts, those feelings creep up on her when she and Buffy are alone and all she can think about is all the ways she wants her and all the ways she wants to fuck her if Buffy even let her cross that line.

Faith finishes off her cigarette and crawls back inside the window into Buffy's old room, now Willow and Kennedy's bedroom. She heads down the hall to Buffy's room and shuts the door behind her. The red light from the sun pours into the open blinds and she shuts them and pulls the blackout drapes closed. Kicking off her boots, she sits on the edge of the unmade bed and feels the pull of sleep beginning to hit her hard. Her head barely hits the pillow before she's out, the last thing on her mind before she gives in to sleep is Buffy.

Always is.

* * *

Buffy sits on the top step, listening to Giles and Xander as they discuss the plans for the day down in the dining room. She knows she should be down there with them, making the decisions with them, but she's too tired, too drained to bother today. Twenty days of living like this. Twenty days of not knowing whether they'd all make it through the night to see another day. Twenty days of holding herself together and the wall she's built up around herself is breaking thin. Twenty days of not having enough food, not having enough sleep, of having to wear the same handful of clothes over and over again is slowly driving her crazy. She'd give anything to go back to the way life used to be and she knows that will never happen if they give up trying to fight.

She still feels guilty and responsible for all the girls who died down in the Hellmouth. They failed to defeat the First and she had failed to get them out of there alive, choosing when it was only her, Faith, and Kennedy left alive down there to make a run for it. She should've got them out sooner. She should've known that they were losing long before they were killed off by the Turok-Han. It's too late to go back and change anything now. She knows she'll feel this guilt for a long time, forever even, because she knows how much differently she should've done things that day.

The other thing she feels guilty about is Spike and that he died for nothing, the amulet not working the way it should've and instead of closing the Hellmouth, it just burned him alive. She wondered if Angel knew what happened to them, but wherever he was now, she knew he was dealing with the same things they all were, fighting the army that the First had brought to their world and trying to find a way to take their world back, make it _theirs_ again.

"Buffy?" Dawn calls out as she heads for the stairs and stops short when she sees Buffy sitting there.

"What is it, Dawnie?"

"Uh, we're out of food again," she says quietly as she climbs up the stairs and sits down on the top step next to her.

"Where's Kennedy?"

"Already went out looking for more food and supplies."

"How long ago did she leave?" Buffy asks her and Dawn shrugs.

"Half an hour, tops."

Buffy nods and closes her eyes, rubbing her temples slowly as she tries to dull the throbbing headache that's come out of nowhere. Dawn wraps an arm around her shoulders and holds her tight. Buffy can feel her tears building and she's beginning to get tired of holding them back. But she won't cry, not in front of Dawn or any of the others. She doesn't want to have them see how weak she really is underneath it all. She doesn't want them to think she can't hold it together, that she can't stay strong for all of them. It's a burden she knows she doesn't have to bear, but it's one she's taken since there's no one else she wants to have to carry that weight on their shoulders.

Dawn takes the silence as a sign that Buffy wants to be left alone. Buffy doesn't open her eyes until she hears Dawn talking to Xander and Giles in the dining room. She stands up and quickly wipes the tears that fall freely from her eyes and heads to her bedroom. She stops in front of the door and groans softly, remembering she offered her bed to Faith since she looked like she needed a soft bed to sleep in for once. She almost expected Faith to refuse her offer to sleep in her bed for a couple of hours and she wasn't that surprised when Faith took her up on it.

She's wondered a lot in the last few weeks if Faith felt guilty too about the girls they'd lost down in the Hellmouth. She'd talk to her about it, but talking to each other had never been easy and that hadn't changed since the world did. It isn't that she doesn't want that to change between them, she does, but it's where to start that's the hard part. Placing a hand on the doorknob, she takes a deep breath before she opens it and steps inside the dark room. Faith is fast asleep and snoring lightly. She shuts the door as quietly as she can behind her even though she's found out the hard way that Faith sleeps like the dead when she hasn't slept much in a couple of days.

Buffy sits down in the chair in the corner of the room, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness and allows them to fall over Faith as she continues to sleep soundly in her bed. It doesn't take her long to start thinking about how much Faith has changed and how far she's come and the things she's done to prove it. In a way, she is proud of Faith for coming as far as she has, for finding herself again, and for not becoming the former version of herself when the world changed. Although the only time they've spent together since that happened has been on patrol or those fleeting moments like the one out on the roof not that long ago, Buffy wished things could be different between them. She had hoped that they could find some kind of friendship like that had in the beginning before things started to slip away and fall apart in all the wrong ways. That is one thing that is not too late to do anything about, that she knows.

"B?" Faith mutters as she sits up in the bed slowly. "Did ya want your bed back or something?"

"No. I just needed to get away from everything else and it's quiet in here."

Faith mutters something Buffy can't quite hear before she lays back down and pulls the pillow over her head. Buffy can't help but smile a little. She feels that buzz just as she always has around Faith and it's only getting stronger. It's been like that a lot lately and it's one of the reasons she never allows herself to be alone with Faith for very long. The way she feels around her is confusing and she isn't sure what to make of it. She doesn't even know what it means or why it's always bothered her so much. Giles told her before it was the slayer inside of her that could feel the slayer inside of Faith, but somehow, deep down inside, she knows that it's more than that. So much more and it makes her afraid of what it really is.

"B?" Faith says after a few minutes and she sounds a little bit annoyed. "If you're tired, hop in. I don't bite."

Buffy raises an eyebrow at that. "I'm fine, Faith. Just sleep."

"Get your ass off that chair and get into bed, B. You fight better when you've had some decent sleep too, you know that right?"

"I uh-"

"I'll go sleep in one of the other beds if sharing one with me is such a fucking issue," Faith says and Buffy sighs heavily as she gets up from the chair and walks over to the other side of the bed.

"It's not an issue," Buffy says quietly and she lays down on the left side of the bed, right on the edge. She can always feel that buzz more strongly whenever she is closer to Faith and this time is no different.

Faith groans and mumbles under her breath as she tosses and turns, trying to get comfortable on her side of the bed. Buffy lays there, eyes wide open as she stares up at the ceiling in the dark, waiting for Faith to fall back asleep before she even tries. She's not sure how much time passes before she can hear Faith's breathing calm down and the snores start up again. She allows herself to relax and she closes her eyes, welcoming sleep like an old, long-lost friend she hasn't seen in years.

* * *

Faith isn't sure how long she's been asleep for, but she's woken up by the sound of Buffy crying next to her. Scrunching her face as she tries to wake up, she rolls on to her side and looks over at Buffy. She can just faintly see her as she lays with her back to her and there's no mistaking that she's definitely crying and trying desperately to hold it in. even waking up to the sounds of Buffy crying, she's never felt more relaxed in her life and knows she's never slept so soundly before. Part of her wonders if it's because of Buffy or because she'd gone too long without any proper sleep in an actual bed. Whatever it is, she shrugs it off for the time being and just lies there, wondering what the hell she's going to do to get Buffy to stop crying.

"B?" Faith whispers quietly and she sees Buffy freeze up immediately. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You're crying."

"I'm _not_ crying."

Faith groans as she moves closer to Buffy on the bed, taking her chance and hopes she's not about to get her ass kicked. She reaches out and places a hand on Buffy's bare arm, shivering slightly as she touches Buffy's warm, smooth skin. She moves a little bit closer and without a word, she wraps her arm around Buffy and holds her close. Something with the way Buffy had been crying tells her that she just needs someone to hold her right now. Words can be spoken another time. It's one of those things she's slowly been getting better at, the whole comfort thing. She just hopes she's doing the right thing.

After a moment, she can feel Buffy relax and she smiles a little when Buffy places a hand over the one she has draped over her stomach. She half expects her to pull it off and push her away, but instead Buffy pulls her arm around her a little tighter and lets out a deep breath that she'd been holding since Faith touched her. Faith is taking it one second at a time, never having been so close to Buffy unless they were sparring or fighting or hiding somewhere small and tight when they came across too many Turok-Han to fight.

Faith knows Buffy is crying again and she can feel her body shudder a little as she lets the tears go. She fights the urge to ask her again what's wrong. She knows the answer is a lot more complicated than any words can explain. She can live with that for now and just hold Buffy until her little moment of weakness disappears.

She can almost feel how much Buffy hates the fact she is crying and that Faith caught her. It tears her up inside too since Buffy has been so strong after everything they've been through. This was the kind of emotion she's been waiting to see in Buffy since the world changed. She wants to be able to ask her why she's been holding it in for so long since even she knows that bottling things up isn't good for the soul.

Faith smiles a little as Buffy keeps one hand on her arm and reaches for her hand with the other, gently intertwining their fingers together. Everything about this moment is far too intimate for Faith to handle. She can't seem to process what's happening right now without those naughty thoughts of fucking Buffy in every way she's fantasized for longer than she cares to admit start to take over in her mind. She tries to push those thoughts out, knowing now isn't the time to think of all the ways she could fuck Buffy right now and make her forget about the rest of the world. She has to be the better person that she knows she is now and control herself. They might not be friends, barely, and she's not about to ruin how far they've come and have things end up as they did years before.

"Faith?"

"Yeah, B?" Faith asks, her voice cracking as she's jarred back to reality in an instant.

"Thank you."

"It's nothing," she replies quietly and she smiles as Buffy gives her hand a gentle squeeze. "Just thought ya needed someone right now. Just so happens I'm sharing your bed with ya so I seemed like the only likely person to be here for ya."

Buffy lets go of her hand and moves away from her as she turns around to face her. For a second she almost thinks that Buffy is going to lean over and kiss her, but all she gets is a small smile from her before she's getting up from the bed and opening up the heavy blackout drapes, letting in what looks like the late afternoon sun. Faith checks her watch and realizes they only got about an hour before its dark and their night begins.

"Think there's any food left?" Faith asks her as she gets off the bed and stretches out.

"Kennedy went out this morning. I'm sure she's brought something back."

"Good, I'm starved."

Buffy laughs and waits for Faith to join her before she leads the way downstairs. Faith lazily rubs the sleep from her eyes as they join the others in the kitchen. Dawn is already lighting the few candles they have left and the glow of the sun setting outside and the light from the candles create almost an eerie light in the room. Faith grabs a bottle of water out of the case next to the fridge and cracks it open, taking a sip before offering the bottle to Buffy without thinking twice. Buffy gives her an odd look, but doesn't say anything as she shakes her head no and gets a bottle of her own.

Everyone looks like they're dreading another night as it approaches quickly, darkness quickly overtaking the sky outside. Faith is ready though. She always is whether she's tired as hell or not. It doesn't matter if there's more out there tonight than there was last night; she knows that killing the Turok-Han and any demons they come across matter in the fight they have against the First. Saving the world isn't easy, it's far from it and she knows it could be a thousand times worse than it is now.

They have to keep trying. They can't give up, not now, not so easily.

They eat what's left of the food that Kennedy found earlier, which isn't much more than a couple cans of spam and cold canned vegetables and a handful of stale plain chips. They eat in silence, everyone seemingly lost in their own thoughts. Soon as everyone is done eating, Faith heads down to the basement where majority of their weapons are kept locked up in steel cabinet in case the house was looted by other survivors when none of them were around. She grabs what she knows they'll need to get them through the night and heads back upstairs quickly. The sooner they get out there, the more ground they can cover and hopefully push back the hordes of Turok-Han that seem to get closer to Revello Drive every night.

It's only her and Buffy tonight and she's just fine with that. They can move quickly, cover more ground, and normally kill more demons and Turok-Han when it's just the two of them. Even with Kennedy, she's not a seasoned slayer and she can't quite keep up with the two of them when they really get going. They don't speak as they get their weapons ready and pull on the bulletproof vests they'd grabbed from the back of a crashed police car a few weeks back. They've come in handy more than once, protected them from being sliced up by a few sword-wielding demons they've come across.

Neither says a word to each other as they leave the house together, Buffy taking the lead and Faith following her. If there's one thing Faith hates about heading out every night, it's walking through the barrier Willow has set up. She can feel the magic when they pass through and it makes her wig a little bit with how it makes her feel. She hates being on edge and it's why she's always been leery when it comes to use of magic. But at least the barrier has held up since they've come back to the Summers' house. It's kept the demons out and the Turok-Han from finding them. From what she understands of the spell that Willow used, it's not just a barrier to keep things out; it also cloaks the house to all things not from this world. Now normal vampires on the other hand, there have been a few left in Sunnydale that have gotten past it. They're piles of dust on the front lawn now.

Faith follows Buffy down the street, both moving quickly and quietly, dodging the bodies of dead demons they'd killed over the past couple of weeks, their rotting corpses lining the road, the sidewalks and the front lawns of all the houses on the street. As soon as Buffy takes a right and heads for the north side of town, Faith knows they're hitting new ground tonight. They've been over at least half of Sunnydale since the world changed and every time they tried to go somewhere else, somewhere a little bit further, things took a turn for the worse and they always got turned around.

"Quiet tonight," Faith whispers as she walks swiftly next to Buffy. "Think something's up?"

"I don't know. Just stay quiet and move fast," Buffy replies in a hushed whisper.

Faith has a feeling there's more to patrol tonight than just being out there to kill Turok-Han and demons. She has a feeling that Buffy might be looking for a different place, somewhere safer, somewhere with food and more supplies than what they have back at the house. She keeps her eyes out, focusing on the left while Buffy keeps an eye out on the right side of the street. It's still early in the night and their luck could run out at any time.

They'd found that out the hard way a week and a half back, thinking they were in for a relatively easy night since it started off quiet, just like tonight. They ended up being careless, not keeping an eye out around them and ended up being jumped by seven demons nobody could even identify. It was a hard, long fight, one they barely walked away from. If it hadn't been for Xander being late to catch up to the two of them, they would've been dead. He's the one who grabbed the crossbow before they left, ignoring Buffy and Faith when they told him it'd be useless against the Turok-Han. If it hadn't been for him and his excellent shot, they'd be dead and so would he and the others.

Buffy comes to a stop after about ten minutes of walking. They're in a neighbourhood they hadn't checked since people started fleeing from Sunnydale. It's a small gated neighbourhood, two blocks at most. The houses are huge and from the looks of things, it has been virtually untouched by the chaos and destruction the rest of the town has seen. The twelve-foot high fence and locked gates protected this neighbourhood and Faith feels like they're about to hit the jackpot soon as they get inside and start searching the houses.

"We gotta go up and over," Faith says as she points to the top of the fence. "Come on, I know we didn't come all this way not to check the place out, B."

Buffy only nods and steps back from the fence. Faith takes it upon herself to go up first. The iron is slick and she finds it hard to get a good grip, but she gets up and over the top of the fence and drops down to land on her feet. Buffy is right behind her and lands on the ground next to her. They look back out to the street, making sure they're not being watched or followed by anyone or anything before they make their way up to the first house on the left side of the wide street.

The sky is completely dark as they make their way up the driveway and head for the front door. Buffy pulls out a small flashlight from the holster on her belt and turns it on. Faith tries the door and it's locked. She smiles and raises a foot and kicks the door between the handle and the deadbolt, the wood splitting and the door flinging open, loudly banging on the wall behind it. A locked door never stopped her before, not even before she was a slayer. Buffy shines the light into the front hallway as they cautiously make their way inside. The neighbourhood may look secure and untouched, as did the house from the outside, but even Faith knows that looks can be deceiving sometimes.

They exchange a look and go their separate ways to check the house top to bottom before they start looking for food and supplies. Faith grabs her own flashlight and heads up the stairs while Buffy stays on the main floor. The house is quiet and hotter than it is outside. She wipes a line of sweat from her forehead as she checks each bedroom thoroughly and quickly. The only sign that anyone had been in the house is whoever used to live here and call the place home had left along with the rest of the town. Dresser drawers still open and cleaned out, family photos taken out of frames that are scattered on tables and the walls. She sighs in relief when she finds the top floor is clear and heads back downstairs to find Buffy.

"Anything?" Faith asks in a whisper as she meets Buffy by the front door.

"Nothing. It's clear."

"We're all clear upstairs too. Let's check the kitchen out and see what we can find. Got a feeling we're about to score here, B."

Faith lets Buffy take the lead and she can't seem to stop smiling. Something happened to her today with Buffy and in her books, it was something huge. It happened when Buffy let her hold her when she was crying instead of throwing her across the room and try to kick her ass for even touching her. It was a step, a big one. Even tonight, she could feel something different between them. Less tension of the normal kind and more tension of the sexual kind.

Faith is going to take this little change between them with a grain of salt though. Buffy's famous for her shifting moods and if this is another one of them, she isn't about to let it destroy her or how far they've come even if in reality, it's not that far at all.

She feels like her heart is locked in a vice grip when Buffy turns to her suddenly and flashes a small little smile before she disappears into the kitchen. Faith can hardly move from where she stands, feeling like her legs just turned into strands of wet spaghetti. She runs a hand through her hair and joins Buffy in the kitchen, her thoughts immediately on the open pantry door and the beam of light coming from Buffy's flashlight.

"Damn, B! We definitely fucking scored!" Faith laughs as she walks straight into the fully stocked pantry. "We're gonna be eating good for at least a week, yo."

Buffy laughs and joins her in the pantry and they stand there, taking in the sight of all the food lined up on the shelves. Faith, in her moment of excitement, wraps her arms around Buffy in a tight embrace. They freeze when they realize what is happening and Faith just shrugs it off, takes a Twix bar off the shelf and eagerly unwraps it. She offers Buffy on piece while she shoves the other into her mouth, savouring the taste of chocolate as it brings her taste buds alive again.

They both know they're not leaving that house as soon as a loud boom of thunder rumbles outside. The storms that roll through now are sudden and violent, sometimes lasting a few minutes, other times lasting hours making it far more unsafe than walking around Sunnydale with a hoard of Turok-Han chasing after them. These storms had proven to be deadly. They saw the destruction first hand when they were holed up in what was left of the Magic Box a few weeks back. Constant lightning and rain that burned if it touched skin. These storms came from a hell dimension and they all knew it would only get worse as time goes on.

Buffy heads off in search of candles while Faith finds bags to use to take as much food as they can carry back to the house. As the storm grows more intense outside, the temperature drops inside the house drastically. Faith shivers as she quickly packs up the food in big black garbage bags she found lying in a box on the floor. As Faith exits the pantry, she shivers as thunder crackles outside, shaking the house. She finds Buffy in the hallway lighting a few candles that she'd found.

"Got what I could loaded up in garbage bags," Faith says as she sits down on the second last step on the stairs. "Was thinking if we're stuck here, should try to make the most of it and find anything else that we can use back at the house."

"Okay."

Faith shrugs and grabs one of the lit candles and starts her search in the first room to the right, a large lavish dining room with a bar. Laughing, she heads around the small bar and spots the locked cabinet. Using her dagger she keeps strapped to her leg, she props the lock open and lets out another laugh as she peers inside.

She grabs an empty cardboard box she spots on the bottom shelf and starts loading it up with various bottles of whiskey, vodka, gin, and rum. As soon as she spots the bottle of scotch on the top shelf, she grabs it, knowing Giles would appreciate it more than she would. She places the box on the floor and grabs a bottle of whiskey. She cracks the bottle open and takes a swig, her whole body buzzing at the first taste of alcohol she's had in a very long time. Since before she went to prison. Too long.

Faith walks around to the other side of the bar and sits on the leather stool. She takes another swig from the bottle and closes her eyes, trying to tune out the raging storm outside and the thoughts flowing through her mind. Buffy walks in a few minutes later and Faith expects her to chew her out for drinking, but instead Buffy surprises her and takes a seat on the stool next to her. She places her candle next to the one Faith had brought in and looks at the nearly empty liquor cabinet behind the bar.

"Really, Faith?"

"We all need something to take the edge off."

Buffy shakes her head, but doesn't say anything. Her look of disapproval says more than enough. It doesn't faze Faith at all and she takes another sip from the bottle before she twists the cap back on.

"You want a sip?" Faith asks as she holds the bottle towards Buffy. With a shrug, Buffy takes the bottle from her, twists off the cap and takes a sip, immediately pulling a face as the liquor burns her throat. "Takes the edge off, doesn't it?"

"Little bit. We should check the rest of the house," Buffy says with a nod and she gets up from the stool, taking her candle with her and heads towards the stairs without another word. "Faith, are you coming?"

Faith grabs her candle and the bottle of whiskey and follows Buffy up the stairs. Faith heads down the hall straight for the master bedroom, opening the double doors wide and walks inside. Buffy isn't too far behind her and they just stand in the doorway for a moment, taking it all in. Faith knows how guilty Buffy feels going through other people's things in their houses they long since abandoned, but it has to be done. They need to survive and they're nearly running on empty now.

Buffy heads into the huge walk-in closet, leaving Faith standing where she is. Faith places her candle on the mahogany dresser and takes a swig from the bottle. She walks over to the big windows and pulls back the heavy drapes and peers outside. The storm is still raging, getting worse by the minute and the clouds in the sky almost look as if they're on fire every time lightning crackles across the clouds.

"Faith?" Buffy's voice pulls her away from the window and she joins her in the walk-in closet.

"Holy shit, B. We fucking scored with this place!" Faith laughs as she stands in front of a cabinet full of weapons. There are old rifles and handguns, swords and knives that look to be a couple hundred years old. Faith knows they can't use the guns, there is no ammo and guns are pretty much worthless when it comes to their biggest threat; the Turok-Han.

"How are we going to get all of this stuff back to the house?"

"We'll figure something out," Faith replies as she traces her finger over the dainty looking lock on the cabinet doors. "Come on, let's grab what we can use and take it downstairs. We'll get everything ready to go and leave as soon as the sun rises."

Buffy doesn't say a word, she only watches as Faith elbows the glass doors, breaking them with ease. They grab the swords and daggers of all different sizes, Faith checking each one to make sure they were real and not replicas made of cheap plastic and wood. They carry the stuff downstairs and settle down in the hallway, Buffy grabbing the couch from the living room and pulling it into the hallway. The storms were unpredictable and since the house didn't have a basement, the hallway was the safest place for them to spend the night. Besides, Faith wants to keep an eye on the things they grabbed and are bringing back to the house with them.

After they both grab some food from the bags Faith had packed up, they settle down, Faith on the bottom step of the stairs and Buffy curled up on the couch. Faith mindlessly eats the stale bag of plain potato chips, looking everywhere around the hallway but at Buffy. It's been different between them all day, in a lot of ways Faith can't quite put her finger on. She wonders if it was what happened between them earlier, when she held Buffy when she was crying, trying her best to comfort her. Whatever it is, there's a new kind of tension in the air between them and she just knows that Buffy has been trying to ignore it just as much as she has.

Faith tries to get comfortable on the stairs, taking a few swigs of the whiskey from the bottle to wash down the bitter taste in her mouth left behind from the stale chips. Buffy seems to have no problem falling asleep on the couch and Faith just sits there on the bottom step, bottle in one hand and the other picking at the rip in her jeans just above the knee.

She wonders how long Buffy had been bottling up how she really feels. Has it been since the world changed on them, or did it start long before that? She's never seen Buffy cry like that and even now, hours later, the image of the way Buffy had looked in that moment is still burned freshly in her mind. If only she could talk to her about it. That's not happening in a million years and Faith knows that. She and Buffy might be on neutral grounds now-they have no other choice-but they are still so far from being friends, from being close enough to talk about things like that.

All Faith can do now is try to get some sleep and wait out the storm and wait for the sun to rise before they do it all over again.

Every day that came was a bit of a blessing and a curse. They never knew if they'd make it through another night, if they'd make it far enough to see the dawn of a new day arrive. This was why she watched the sunrise each day, using that time to search for answers that never came. Answers on how to save the world, to bring it back to the way it used to be.

Hopeless, it was it is. But it's that hopeless feeling that creates a sense of hope that maybe things _will_ change.

If not tomorrow or the next day, but maybe one day soon.

For Faith and the others, that day can't come soon enough.


	2. Chapter 2

******Author's Notes:** I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I know I sure did! I hope you guys will enjoy this little piece, the heart-wrenching stuff is yet to come...but first, a little Fuffy heh heh :)

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Buffy tirelessly goes through the motions, practicing the tai chi moves she'd learned long ago from Angel in the basement while the others act like its Christmas upstairs with the stuff that she and Faith had brought back. She can hear the excited laughter upstairs, but it doesn't break her concentration. This is _her_ time and no matter what's going on upstairs and out in the rest of the world, she finds a place far away when she concentrates hard enough and it's as if the rest of the world easily slips away.

There's one thing she can't shake, can't forget and that's how the other morning she let Faith catch her crying when everything just got to be too much. This was why she didn't share her room with anyone else. Ever. When those moments came, she preferred to be alone. She didn't want anyone's comfort or pity. She let the world change because she didn't try hard enough. She's putting the weight of it on her shoulders, carrying around, making it _her_ burden. She didn't want Faith to see that, didn't _need_ her to see that, but she couldn't hold the tears back any longer. Being comforted by Faith was definitely unexpected, and a part of her actually kind of _liked_ it.

Buffy shakes her head and does a couple of stretches, hoping the pull of her sore, tired muscles will help her focus on something else. But she can't. No matter what she tries to do, she just can't shake those thoughts from her head. When she hears the basement door open, she's thankful for the distraction. That is until she realizes that it's Faith and not someone else that'll help her take her mind off of Faith.

"What's up, B?"

"Nothing."

"So the gang is pretty much fucking ecstatic over what we found. Thinking Kennedy is a little jealous we scored better than she has when she goes out on a food run."

"She'll get over it."

Faith strolls over to the cot and sits down, casually lighting a cigarette as Buffy moves over to the punching bag, hoping to let off a little steam and frustration even with Faith being in the same room as her. She knows she has to make an effort in making things a little less tense between them. They are all they all have left and they need to be there for each other, regardless of their past and those ever-present confusing feelings Buffy has always felt with Faith.

"You wanna spar, B?"

Buffy turns to her before she can throw the first punch at the heavy bag. "Now?"

"Wouldn't have asked if I didn't wanna do it right now, Princess. You up for it?"

This could end badly. Buffy knows this. She knows there's two ways sparring with Faith can end up and one is with one of them getting hurt when things get out of control or things will get out of control and touching-of the sexual kind courtesy of Faith and likely herself-will end up happening. It's been so long since Buffy was with anyone and for a long time she was okay with that. It's the last thing she thinks about-if she even thinks of it at all most days. The world isn't the same and there isn't like there's much of a selection left to choose from these days. It's not that she would settle on Faith to "scratch that itch" as Faith always so eloquently puts it, it's just that it's _Faith_ and just to have those thoughts alone of considering her is freaking her out beyond freaking out.

"If you don't wanna, just say the word. I ain't gonna be offended or anything here," Faith laughs when a few minutes have gone by and Buffy still hasn't given her an answer.

"I kind of came down here to be alone," Buffy whispers and Faith nods. She gets up from the cot and crushes her cigarette out in the ashtray. "You-you don't have to leave."

"You say you want to be alone and then tell me I don't have to leave?" Faith looks confused and Buffy can't help but smirk a little at the look on her face. "So, what is it, B? You don't wanna spar, you wanna be alone, but you don't want me to leave?"

"Just stay," Buffy sighs. "I don't even care anymore. It's not like I ever get the chance to be alone anymore. This is not just my house anymore. It's everyone's. Even yours. You know something, Faith? I shouldn't even be here right now. None of us should be. I should be out travelling the world, sipping margaritas on a beach somewhere far from here while ogling sexy foreign men in tiny tight speedos."

Faith laughs and relaxes back on the cot, not once taking her eyes off of Buffy. "That gets you off? Sexy foreign men in tiny tight speedos who will probably hit on you and woo you with their incredibly sexy accents only to get you into their beds for one night and pass you off the next?"

"When you put it that way, no. Gee thanks, Faith, for ruining that fantasy."

"It's what I'm here for."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

Buffy moves to sit on the other end of the cot with her and turns until she's facing her fully. "What would you be doing if we won that fight against the First and the world isn't like it is now?"

"Beats me," Faith shrugs. "Probably end up back in jail. I did break out and everything. Bound to have been caught one way or another."

"And if you weren't?"

"Don't paint it like it isn't, Buffy."

"Just humour me, Faith. What would you be doing if the world was still the way it used to be, or better?"

"Dunno honestly. Haven't given it that much thought."

"Give it some thought now."

Faith laughs and lights another cigarette. "Giles mentioned there is another Hellmouth in Cleveland. Probably would've gone there."

"Why?"

"Duty?" Faith tries and Buffy shakes her head no. "What do you want me to say, B? It ain't like I can just freely travel without constantly looking behind my back. At least if I made it to Cleveland, I could figure something out, lay low while doing my best to keep the baddies from overrunning the city."

"Okay fantasize for a minute here. There's nothing wrong with that. If nothing was stopping you from doing what you wanted to do, what would you do?"

Buffy knows she's pushing the boundaries. Faith isn't a sharer by any means. But it's something. It's a start and in a way, Buffy believes it'll set a slow and steady pace on the path to friendship between them.

"Sipping margaritas on a beach somewhere far from here, ogling sexy foreign men sounds right up my alley," Faith chuckles and it only makes Buffy frown. "I ain't good at fantasizing about things I ain't ever gonna have, B."

Not exactly the answer Buffy was hoping to hear, but she'll take it anyway. She's learned a lot about Faith in the last twenty-one days that she knows that Faith won't easily let down her walls and open up. She's the same way. She finds it funny just how much alike they really are sometimes when she takes a step back and observes things between them.

"You know the craziest thing?" Faith asks her and Buffy shakes her head no, keeping quiet and deciding to let Faith speak her mind if that's what she's willing to right now. "This right here, right now, I feel _free_, crazy as it is. If anything was different, I probably wouldn't feel the same way. I should be doing twenty-five to life here. I'd still be in that prison if I didn't break out for Angel."

"Would you have done that to help us?"

"Some help I turned out to be."

"Don't say that," Buffy frowns. "You've helped, Faith. A lot more than I think you realize and you're still helping."

"Whatever. Look, you wanna spar or something, B? 'Cause I'm so not in the mood to do this whole talking thing we got going on right now."

Buffy knows she's gotten as far as she can with Faith for now since the walls that came down a little are right back up. She'll take what she can get and she nods her head. They both get off the cot and Buffy waits for Faith to stretch out a little before they move to the middle of the basement and start circling each other. They've sparred a few times in the last few weeks, mostly because they were bored or because Giles had told them they need to keep training despite everything else. Normally Kennedy would be there with them, sparring with them, making it a little more challenging with a third person thrown in the mix.

And how Buffy wishes they weren't down there alone when Faith winks and blows her a kiss before she makes her first move, a predicted leg sweep followed by an attempted uppercut that Buffy swiftly blocks with ease. Buffy's trying not to think about the feelings she keeps denying she is having when it comes to Faith, and just not thinking about it distracts her long enough for Faith to get in a hard left hook to her jaw.

"Look alive, B," Faith laughs as she shakes her hand a little. Buffy groans as she tenderly places her fingers over her sore jaw. Faith got her a lot harder than what was intended-or so she wants to think. "I'll let you have a free one for that," Faith says when Buffy doesn't move from where she stands. "Come on. I'm offering you a free punch or kick of your choice. Give me your hardest, B."

Faith stands there with her arms held out, ready for whatever Buffy is going to do. All Buffy can do is stand there and stare at her, debating how to deliver her payback without knocking her out cold. Faith hasn't felt her hardest, not even when they fought on the rooftop of Faith's apartment and not even right before the whole body-swap fiasco. The last thing Buffy wants to do is actually _hurt_ Faith and she knows she can if she gives it everything she has.

"What ya waiting for, B?"

"Nothing," Buffy chuckles and she takes a step forward and she swears she sees Faith almost flinch at her sudden movement. "A free one? No strings attached?"

"Come on then. Give me your best shot."

Buffy smirks, deciding she can actually deliver a fairly hard kick or punch or catch Faith completely off-guard. Deciding on the latter, she takes another step forward and raises her right hand, curling her fingers into a tight fist. Faith braces herself as she lowers her arms to her side. Buffy takes another step forward, reaches out and flicks her. Right on her left breast.

"What the fuck, B? Did you just flick my _tit_?" Faith is surprised and her voice is a few octaves higher as she rubs the spot Buffy just flicked fairly hard.

Buffy feels her face flush a little when she realizes what she's done. They both just stare at each other for a moment before they start laughing hard. Buffy cannot believe she just did that, but it was worth it. Neither of them have had a reason to laugh like this in a long time. Buffy feels a sense of relief wash over her as she wipes the tears and tries to stop laughing. Faith can't stop either and she steps forward and flicks Buffy back, right on her breast just shy of her right nipple.

"Faith!" Buffy gasps as she takes a few steps back. "You told me-you said I get a free one, no strings attached and that usually means you don't do what I did back!"

"What are ya, twelve, B? And I never said no strings attached, you did. Besides, you ain't playing fair. I said a free punch or kick, not a flick to my fucking tit!"

This sets things off and they're throwing and blocking punches and kicks fluidly, effortlessly, working up a sweat and making the room spin as they circle each other. Buffy feels almost alive again, realizing all this time it had felt like all she did day after day was go through the motions, do what has to be done. Sparring with Faith had never been so…_fun_.

Buffy catches Faith off-guard and slams her down against the hard cement floor. She grins, feeling like she bested Faith for once, but the moment is fleeting and before Buffy can blink, she finds herself flat on her back, pinned to the floor with Faith straddling her stomach. Faith is laughing at her as she squirms, trying to get out from the hold Faith has her in. Buffy stops suddenly and stares into Faith's eyes. There's something there, she can see it and feel it and she feels a chill run down her spine as she begins to squirm again, trying to get Faith off of her.

"Faith, stop," Buffy says through gritted teeth. "I've had enough. Get off."

"Whatever, B," Faith mutters as she gets up and holds a hand out to Buffy. Buffy shrugs it off and gets up off the floor without Faith's help. She doesn't need Faith's help. "What gives?"

"What gives is that was _not_ sparring."

"Oh no?" Faith smirks and Buffy rolls her eyes and fights the urge to wipe that smirk off Faith's face with her fist. "And exactly what do you think it was, Buffy?"

Buffy can't say it. She doesn't even want to think it right now. Faith doesn't let her walk away like she's trying to either and Buffy is getting angry now. "Don't. Just don't, Faith," she snaps at her as Faith blocks the way up the stairs.

"Don't what? Thought we were sparring, B? Besides, if I ain't mistaken, you were having fun for a little while there."

"Get out of my way."

"No."

Buffy punches her hard in the face, but it doesn't make Faith back down. She retaliates, punching Buffy back and sending her stumbling backwards. Faith is right there in a matter of seconds, throwing punches left and right and Buffy is trying to block each of them while trying to get a few punches of her own in. Now _this_ isn't sparring, this is fighting and Buffy can feel the anger bubbling in her veins and that uncontrollable urge to do nothing but hurt Faith.

* * *

Willow sits in the kitchen and listens to the sounds of the fight erupting down in the basement. She knows she should put a stop to it before they seriously hurt each other-or worse, kill each other-but a part of her knows that they need to do this, get it out of their system. Willow has never understood their relationship, or lack of. She knows how Faith feels about Buffy, it's written in her eyes for all to see and Willow knows not everyone can see it. She can though. She can see it whenever Faith and Buffy are in the same room as each other and she always wonders to herself just how much longer it's going to be until Buffy can see it too.

"Hey," Kennedy says as she takes a seat on the stool next to her and leans over to kiss her lightly on the forehead. "They're fighting? Shouldn't we stop them?"

"No."

"No?" Kennedy looks surprised. "It sounds like they're killing each other down there, Will!"

"They need to get this out of their system."

Kennedy rolls her eyes, but doesn't say another word. Willow smiles at her, grateful that Kennedy understands a lot more than the rest of them do sometimes. Willow sighs and reaches for her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze and smiles tiredly.

She's exhausted. They all are. Twenty-one days of living in a world that is no longer theirs has drained them and she feels like she's been drained a lot more than all of them put together. She can't keep her strength up no matter how much she rests. Her power is drained next to nothing most days and when even a little bit comes back, she uses it to strengthen the barrier around the house to keep them safe. That's all that matters to her is keeping everyone safe.

"Did you eat?" Kennedy whispers and Willow nods her head. "Did you eat enough?"

"I'm fine, baby. Don't worry about me."

"I always worry about you," Kennedy says with a sad smile. "Are you sure we should just let them try to kill each other?" Kennedy asks when they hear a loud crash and the sound of a groan coming from the basement. "If anything happens to them-"

"They won't kill each other."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know." _Because they love each other and don't even know it yet_.

Willow shakes her head and reaches for the lukewarm tea she'd made for herself when the box of teabags had been discovered in the bags Buffy and Faith had brought home with them. She can still hear them fighting downstairs, but it hasn't gotten any worse from what she can tell. Kennedy gives her a light kiss before leaving her alone in the kitchen, alone with her thoughts accompanied by the sounds of Buffy and Faith hitting and kicking each other in the basement.

Willow knows if Giles knew what was happening in the basement right now, he wouldn't hesitate to put a stop to it. Having one hurt slayer is bad enough, but having two? That means Kennedy would be on her own if the barrier failed, defenseless in trying to protect them all. As good as a slayer as she is, Willow knows she's not near as strong as Buffy and Faith and may never be. She can feel the slayer essence, she has been able to since she cast that spell on the scythe that turned all the potentials into slayers. She can feel the difference in the power, the strength. She can also feel the other girls that are out there in this world, fighting alone, dying alone.

She sips her tea and tries not to think about how different the world is now and tries not to imagine what the world would've been like if they had won.

* * *

One minute Buffy is punching the hell out of her face, the next Buffy's hands are in her hair and they're kissing. Hard. Faith feels dizzy and she's not sure if it's from the fight they've just had or if it's because Buffy is kissing her. Faith can taste the blood from her split lip, the metallic tang making it impossible to taste anything else. Buffy doesn't let up, she keeps kissing her hard and deep. Faith moves her hands to Buffy's hips and pulls her closer, not wanting this moment to end even though she isn't sure how the hell they ended up here like this in the first place.

Faith moans as Buffy pulls back from the kiss, both of them panting hard, trying to catch their breath. The look in Buffy's eyes is intense and Faith can't seem to look away. Buffy grips her hair a little harder and she lets out a little sigh as she backs Buffy up to the wall behind her. It's Buffy who pulls her back in for another needy and hard kiss and somehow Faith can just _feel_ that Buffy needs something so much more. Something she isn't so sure she wants to get into. Once they take that step, there's no going back. This is Faith using her head and not wanting things to be any more fucked up than they already are.

She has a feeling no matter what happens now, things are already fucked up beyond repair. They just beat the hell out of each other and Faith is surprised that even now nobody else has come down there to make sure they didn't kill each other.

Faith tightens her grip on Buffy's hips as she feels Buffy move a hand to her throat. She pulls back from Buffy's lips as Buffy rakes her nails over her pulse point and slowly moves her hand to grab her chin, forcing Faith to kiss her again. Her heart is pounding so hard she can hear it in her ears and despite all the pain her body is in, the only thing that she can feel are Buffy's lips on hers, Buffy's tongue dancing with hers, dominating the kiss. Dominating her. Taking all control. And Faith lets her, submits to her willingly, knowing fighting her is useless now.

Fighting her feelings is useless now, too.

Buffy drops her hand from Faith's chin, the kiss turning softer, slower as she runs her hand down Faith's chest. She grips Faith's t-shirt tightly in a fist and before Faith realizes what's happening, Buffy has her pinned against the wall. With a grunt, Buffy pushes herself away from Faith and takes a step back, breathing heavily as she just stares at her, the fire in her eyes still very much there.

Faith licks over her swollen lips, still tasting the blood from her split lip. She breathes in deeply, wondering what the hell is happening between them and why it was over just as quickly as it had started. Buffy had initiated the kiss, took control of the moment and of Faith and ended it before things could go any further. In a way, Faith is grateful for that. She's still trying to think with her head and not let her sex-drive and fantasies of fucking Buffy control her right now.

Buffy opens her mouth as if to say something, but instead she doesn't say a word as she turns and heads up the stairs, leaving Faith standing there leaning against the wall with her mind reeling over what had just happened between them.

"Fuck," Faith groans and she limps over to the cot, finally feeling the pain Buffy had inflicted on her.

She shakily lights a cigarette, hoping to calm herself down a little bit, at least enough to take her mind off the pain she's feeling right now. She can hear Buffy up in the kitchen talking to Willow and it's not long before Giles is in there too, lecturing her over fighting with Faith. Faith sighs and closes her eyes, licking over her bottom split lip and winces when she feels it's still very much open and her slayer healing hasn't quite kicked in yet.

"Faith?" Giles says as he comes down the stairs slowly, almost as if he's approaching her with caution. "May I have a word?"

"Sure, G."

He clears his throat as he stands near the cot by her. She opens her eyes and looks at him. He can't hide the disappointment she sees in his eyes and she just knows what's coming next.

"Look," she starts as she shifts a little and manages to lean back against the wall with a little bit of effort. "We were sparring and things got outta hand. Didn't mean for it to get that bad, but you know what Buffy is like."

"I know what you're like as well, Faith. You _know_ better than this. You both do. What would've happened if you two had seriously hurt each other? You are putting everyone's safety at risk because of some nonsense you two cannot work out like proper, mature adults."

Faith closes her eyes as she takes a drag of her cigarette. She doesn't want to deal with Giles right now. She just wants to be alone to suffer from the thoughts and feelings going through her along with the pain she's feeling. A flicker of worry washes over her when she thinks-no, she _knows_ she has a minor concussion right now. This is definitely not good.

"Whatever you two need to work out and get over, I suggest you find a way that doesn't involve your fists," Giles says firmly and Faith nods her head as she forces her eyes open. "The world has changed and we need to stick together. We're all we have now."

"I know, Giles," Faith murmurs under her breath. "Don't think for one second that I don't know that."

"She cannot do this alone."

"She's _not_ doing this alone. I'm here, ain't I?"

Faith knows Giles wants to say a lot of things to her, but is having a hard time trying to get the words out. She can't blame him. She's never been easy to talk to and that's mostly her fault for shutting everyone out all the time.

Giles leaves her alone and heads back upstairs, leaving the basement door open. Faith groans as she puts her cigarette out in the overflowing ashtray and moves to lie down on the cot. She's spent a lot of time down there in the basement alone, surrounded by her thoughts, by her dreams she can't help but chase while she's asleep.

Fighting sleep, she stares up at the ceiling and tries her hardest to forget about the rest of the world and what had happened between her and Buffy. But she can't get that kiss out of her head, she can't shake the vivid memory of how Buffy's lips felt against her own. She touches her lips as she can feel the faintest of tingles, a ghost of the kiss just lingering there. She's a lost cause now and she knows it, but at least Buffy gave her something else to feel even if it wasn't for very long.

* * *

Buffy stands in the bathroom, the door locked and the only light coming from the candle she lit and placed on the sink in front of her. She stares at her reflection in the mirror and lifts a hand to tenderly touch her swollen cheek. She feels like she just made a huge mistake and she doesn't even know how it got to where it ended, with her kissing Faith with so much need she stills feels it lingering behind, haunting her.

Buffy doesn't know why she kissed her like that either. No, she knows why, she's just in denial right now.

She lets a few tears fall before she furiously wipes them away. How did everything get so messed up, she wonders. With the world changing, becoming something else, with her and the others still fighting and still trying to find a way to save what's left of it, how did she end up here, locked in the bathroom with her heart heavy and full of guilt?

Buffy looks down at the sink, unable to look at her reflection any longer. She runs her fingers over the taps, wishing they had running water so she could wash the dirt, the grime, and the blood away from her face. Laughing, she grabs the nearly empty bottle of water she brought up with her and instead of taking a sip, she pours some into her hand and splashes it over her face. It's not much but it's enough and she uses a towel to dry her face. Some of the dirt, the grime, and the blood are gone, but she feels like even if she ever got the chance to shower again, she'd never feel clean. Ever.

She can't shake the thoughts of what happened in the basement and she can't get the feeling of what it felt like to kiss Faith out of her head either. It was different than anything she's ever felt before and she's trying to convince herself it's because Faith is very much a woman and she's never kissed another woman before in her life.

"Why did I even do that? Why did I even kiss her?" Buffy mutters to herself and she shakes her head as she brings herself to look at her reflection again. "Am I really going crazy? Of course I am. I'm locked in the bathroom talking to myself like a crazy person."

Buffy laughs at herself and tries to fall back into denial mode. It keeps getting harder and harder to fall back into that frame of mind. And she allows herself, just for a moment, to think about how it felt to kiss Faith without trying to enter denial land. It'd been so rough, so needy, so unexpectedly and it felt so _good_ to finally feel something other than pain. And hopelessness. And feeling like she's losing faith in herself and losing all hope that they can change the world, make it a better place again.

Shaking it off as best as she can, she blows the flame out and heads for the door, slowly unlocking it and opening it, ready to face the world again even if that meant facing Faith after she just left her down in the basement without saying a word to her. What could she even say? That she was sorry for kissing her? That she was sorry for beating the hell out of her because she wasn't in complete control of her own anger? Sorry isn't the right word to say to Faith, not ten minutes ago and definitely not now or anytime in the near future, that she knows. Sorry is just a meaningless word and she isn't sorry. She isn't sorry for fighting with her like that and she isn't sorry for kissing her either.

Buffy heads downstairs and into the kitchen, not surprised to find everyone but Faith in there, picking away at some of the food they'd found last night and brought back. Buffy isn't hungry though and she grabs a bottle of whiskey that's sitting on the counter near the stove. She ignores the looks the others are giving her as she heads for the basement door. She knows Faith is still down there. Where else would she be?

"What, ya come back for more?" Faith mutters as Buffy walks slowly down the basement stairs. "Don't know if I can handle any more of you punching the shit outta me right now, B. Go away."

Buffy frowns and hastily walks towards the cot where Faith is laying down with the pillow over her face. "I'm not here to hurt you anymore, Faith," she says softly as she sits down on the cot, trying to put as much distance as possible between them, which isn't much.

"Well, if ya come to apologize, it's a bit too late for that."

"Fine," Buffy sighs and she grabs the pillow and pulls it away from Faith. "I won't apologize then."

"Didn't think ya would anyway."

Buffy unscrews the cap off the bottle and holds it towards Faith. She smiles a little as Faith sits up and takes the bottle, greedily taking a few swigs before passing it back to her. Buffy looks at the bottle and shrugs, taking a tentative sip before groaning in disgust as the liquor burns her throat.

She can't help but wonder how things have changed between them in such little time. Twenty-one days of living in this world as it is now, living together, fighting together-against and with each other-and it's only now that Buffy is beginning to see Faith in a different light. What happened between them? Did kissing Faith change everything? Buffy hates the thoughts flowing through her mind, deciding that living in denial is a lot easier than trying to deal with everything she's feeling right now.

Buffy takes another swig before Faith takes the bottle from her. She needs a little bit of liquid courage right now. She reaches out and gingerly touches Faith's swollen split lip. It's stopped bleeding at least. Buffy smiles a little as Faith takes her hand and for a second she thinks there could be a moment between them, but that thought is gone when Faith pulls her hand away and lets go.

"What's going on with you, B?" Faith asks and she takes another swig from the bottle before placing it between her thighs. "And don't fucking say nothing 'cause I know that's bullshit."

"I-" She falters as she struggles to find words that make sense.

Nothing seems to make any sense anymore.

"What'd ya come down here for anyway?" Faith asks her, grunting as she moves to sit up and leans against the wall. "You're all about the talking, so talk to me here, B. I ain't in the mood for twenty questions."

"I don't know what to say."

"Why don't ya start off by giving me some answers as to why you fucking kissed me?"

Buffy laughs and shakes her head, not sure how to answer that since she isn't entirely sure of the answer either. She tries to grab the bottle from between Faith's legs, deciding more liquid courage is needed, but Faith stops her, grabbing both of her hands and looks her right in the eye. Buffy can't help but soak in the intensity of the look Faith is giving her right now and she's trying so hard not to read into it. A part of her knows, _feels_, that Faith wants her and she's not sure how to deal with that.

"Fine," Faith snaps and she doesn't let go of her hands. "How about I give you my answer as to why I kissed you back?"

"Okay," Buffy squeaks, now not entirely sure coming down here was a good idea after all, liquid courage in hand and all.

"You really don't know, do ya?" Faith laughs. "You're really fucking blind, aren't ya?"

"I-"

"Jesus, Buffy. If you're playing some kind of sick game with me, well colour me fucking stupid for going along with it."

"I'm not-"

Faith lets go of her hands and grabs the bottle, taking a couple of swigs before leaning over to place it on the ground. She moves quickly, grabbing Buffy until she's straddling Faith's lap, their faces mere inches apart.

"I hate you," Faith mutters as she grips Buffy's hips, her grip so tight it makes Buffy wince. "I hate you and I fucking love you. Tell me that's not all fifty shades of fucked up right there!"

"Faith-"

"Don't," Faith stops her as she places a finger over her lips. "Just don't."

Buffy lightly runs her fingers up Faith's bare arms, over her shoulders, her neck and gently cups the back of her neck. She can see the look in Faith's eyes change with the simplest little touch. She allows herself to look further into this, to just _feel_ everything and it hits her hard, making her heart race quickly and her head spin.

Without even thinking, Buffy leans in and kisses Faith. It's soft and slow and sure. It's everything their first kiss wasn't. Buffy can't even think straight right now, figuratively speaking, but all she knows is that she's feeling things she hasn't in a long time and she's embracing them with everything she's got right now. There's nothing else left in this world worth feeling with every ounce of her being, but this moment, here and now, this is worth it and she's taking it without thinking of the consequences she knows is going to come later.

Much to Buffy's surprise, Faith is the first one to pull back from the kiss and she sighs heavily, her grip on Buffy's hips loosening but she doesn't pull her hands away. She didn't want to stop, at least not so soon and she pouts. Faith chuckles softly and moves a hand to her shoulder, lightly tracing her thumb over Buffy's collarbone.

"Ya ready to tell me why ya kissed me, B? Again?"

"Because I wanted to."

"Why?"

"Are you trying to make this complicated?"

"Everything is complicated when it comes to you and me."

_Does it have to be?_ Buffy wonders, wishing she could say the words.

It doesn't have to be and she knows it, but even with this moment between them, she knows otherwise. Things will always be complicated between them. History has a hand in that. Buffy is also trying to forget that not that long ago they were beating the hell out of each other and Faith's face and split lip is evidence of that. Buffy knows she looks just as bad too. And she has to wonder why she still thinks that Faith is beautiful, even with her swollen cheek, her eye that's bruised and swollen and her split lip. Maybe it's the alcohol making her walls fall apart and make her think these things, whatever it is, she doesn't even care anymore. She just wants to kiss her again.

She just wants to feel something else, just for right now, before they go out and face the world again. She wants to feel that hopelessness disappear for a little while. She wants to feel a pair of soft, warm lips on her own, hands caressing her, touching her just right. She wants that warm embrace only a lover can give. She wants so much and a part of her knows that Faith doesn't exactly meet all her little wants and needs or any of her expectations other than a warm, soft body ready and willing to fuck for hours on an end.

It feels like time is standing still and it might as well be. Buffy hasn't moved and neither has Faith. Faith's thumb is still lightly tracing over Buffy's collarbone, her eyes boring into Buffy's as if she's still waiting for Buffy to give her an answer. Buffy knows all she can give her is "because I wanted to" as an answer. It's the only answer she has.

"Buffy, I-"

"I know you want an answer," she whispers, not giving Faith a chance to speak right now. "I gave you my answer and if you tell me that it's not good enough, consider this the last time we discuss this and the last time I ever let you this close to me without royally kicking your ass."

Faith chuckles softly, the hardness that was clearly evident in her eyes now gone almost completely. Buffy breathes a sigh of relief. She isn't ready to put this to bed yet. Whatever is going on between her and Faith, it didn't just start recently. It's been happening for a long time and it's only now that things are changing and eyes are opening to what is right there within reach.

"Fine by me," Faith finally says and Buffy smiles. "You wanna kiss me? Go right ahead, Princess."

Faith puckers up and it's almost comical the way she's over-exaggerating it. Buffy laughs and moves her hands to Faith's sides and gives her a pinch. It causes Faith to jump a little and Buffy launches into full-blown tickle attack. Faith cannot stop laughing and squirming. Buffy has a fleeting thought of that this is the way things should've always been between them. Carefree and fun. It's in that fleeting moment that she has that thought that Faith grabs her hands and stops her, efficiently flipping Buffy over onto her back. The laughter stops in an instant. Faith's lips are just inches away from Buffy's now and they're both breathing heavily as they stare into each other's eyes.

"What is it you want from me, B?"

"I-"

"You want to kiss me?" Faith whispers, letting her lips brush lightly over Buffy's, not quite kissing her. "You want more than that? You want to take it further, you want me to put my hands all over you, make you feel _good_? You want a warm body to fuck you, make you forget how fucked up the world is now?"

Buffy knows this is who Faith is and there's no changing her, but the words still shock her a little bit too since Faith whispered the words in one hell of a sexy voice that sent chills down her spine.

"I can do all that," Faith continues, a sly smirk dancing over her lips as she presses her thigh into Buffy's center. Buffy moans at the contact and rolls her hips, seeking out more. "But," Faith says as she lets her lips brush against Buffy's again. "I don't want you being a fucking pillow queen here."

"I-I won't be."

"I got needs too," Faith grunts as Buffy lifts her thigh between Faith's legs a little bit. "It's been a while."

"For me too."

Buffy's starting to feel nervous now. She knows now that she wants all those things and the prospect of having them is making her feel antsy. The problem with the nervous feeling is she's getting it because it's Faith. Not to mention the fact that she's never been with another woman before, never even _entertained_ the thought of it either. Not once. Okay, she knows that is a lie. There had been dreams before, years ago before Faith did a one-eighty and headed down the path of evil. Not just normal dreams, _sexy_ dreams that left her hot and bothered and confused when she woke up.

She's thinking too much and she knows that. Over-thinking has always been something she's done. She doesn't want to think right now, she just wants to let go and let whatever is about to happen, happen. Shaking off the nerves, she inhales sharply as she moves her hands down Faith's sides, slipping her hands under her worn shirt to feel the soft, warm skin underneath.

Faith captures her lips in a hard, needy kiss. Buffy moans and grips at the waistband of Faith's jeans as Faith presses her thigh harder against her pussy. The burning need inside of her is getting too much to handle and she needs more, she wants more. She wants Faith and she's not denying it anymore. There's a sense of urgency in their kiss now, it's almost as if neither of them can quite get enough, but aren't making the move to take things to a whole other level just yet.

Buffy just wants Faith to take her, hard and fast, to make her forget about everything else and the rest of the world. She almost wishes there was time to make this happen _right_, to fall in love first, to really get to know each other before they become intimate. There's no room in this world for love, not that kind of love at least, and it breaks Buffy's heart knowing that will never change unless they can save whatever is left of the world.

It's Buffy that makes the move, taking the next step to get what they both want and need right now. She slips her hands under Faith's shirt and pulls it up slowly. Faith breaks away from the kiss, allowing her to remove her shirt completely. Piece by piece they remove each other's clothes hurriedly, knowing time and privacy is not in their favour for very long.

And when the nerves settle in again for Buffy as she looks at Faith completely naked for the first time, Faith smiles as she gently strokes her fingers over Buffy's cheek and leans down to kiss her ever so softly.

And just like that, the rest of the world fades away.

All her worries, all her fears, all that hopelessness, gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: One more after this...hope you guys are enjoying this short, little ride... :)**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Faith feels like she's dreaming. She's even spent the last hour trying to convince herself that she's dreaming and that being concussed has made her fall asleep and fooled her by making it all feel so very real.

She sits up on the cot slowly, her head spinning a little as she does. She groans softly as she grabs the bottle of whiskey on the floor, unscrews the cap and takes a tentative sip. She closes her eyes when she feels the warm hands slide up her back and she sighs when she can feel the warm, naked body pressed right up against her back as slender, strong arms wrap around her waist.

"Is this the part where you kick me out?" Buffy whispers into her ear.

Faith is still trying to convince herself she's dreaming. The Buffy she knows would never have let her do the things she just spent a little over an hour doing to her. The Buffy she knows would never have given back as much as she was receiving either, doing things with her lips and tongue that Faith didn't even know she _knew_ how to do.

"No," she says softly before taking another sip. "Not gonna kick you out."

Faith takes another sip before screwing the cap back on and she slowly turns around to face Buffy. Everything about how close they are, how calm they both are, how Buffy is looking at her like she's ready for another go is getting a little too intimate for Faith to handle right now. But she doesn't put any space between them, not like she normally would with anyone else.

A part of her wants to know what's going through Buffy's mind right now. She can see so much in her eyes and it scares her a little bit because she just doesn't know what Buffy is thinking right now or how she feels about what they just did. If she regretted it, Faith knows they wouldn't be in this position right now and that Buffy would've been long gone.

What she's still trying to wrap her head around was that Buffy is the one who started this whole thing. Never in her wildest dreams would she have ever imagined that Buffy would be the one to start anything between them other than another one of their fights that ended in pain, not pleasure.

Faith knows their time is running out. They've already been down there for well over an hour and no one upstairs has come down to make sure they haven't killed each other yet. A sly smirk curls over her lips as Buffy straddles her legs and slide her fingers through her hair slowly. She can't stop the moan that escapes as she watches Buffy salaciously lick over her lips.

"I'm definitely dreaming," Faith mutters under her breath and it causes Buffy to raise an eyebrow at her. "Did I just say that?"

"You did and I can safely say you are definitely _not_ dreaming right now."

_You always say that in my dreams just before I wake up_.

Faith knows she's falling deeper and harder in love with Buffy now and she can't stop. She feels so vulnerable and she hates feeling that way. Every ounce of her wants to push Buffy away, to kick her out of the basement just like another meaningless fuck. But Buffy is not just another meaningless fuck to her. As much as she thinks she wants it to be, it's not. It never can be with Buffy, not with the way that she feels about her.

Fighting all her emotions, she gives in and kisses Buffy with everything she has. Their time may be running out, but she's going to milk it for every last second that she can.

She moves to lay Buffy back on the cot, her body hovering just above Buffy's. She groans loudly as Buffy bites down on her swollen, split lip, but not hard enough to make it start to bleed again. She unhurriedly runs her hand down the length of Buffy's body. She already knows those little spots to touch that pushes all of Buffy's buttons and gets her all worked up almost in an instant. A part of her wishes they could've had this before the entire world went and changed on them. A part of her wonders too if it had happened before, how different would things be?

"You are so sexy," Faith murmurs against Buffy's lips as she traces her fingers lightly over the scar on her stomach, the scar she got when a Turok-Han plunged its sword clean through her.

Buffy moans as Faith caresses her fingers over the spot just above her hipbone. Faith doesn't know if Buffy even knows what this means to her. It's why she kept pushing her away before. She didn't want Buffy to feel like she was making a mistake, but over an hour later and Buffy is still there lying naked beneath her, well that tells Faith there's definitely no feelings of regret just yet.

As Faith has found out, Buffy is definitely not a pillow queen and even now, her hands are roaming over Faith's body, caressing her skin. Faith just stares down at Buffy as she moves her hand between Buffy's legs. Her eyes search Buffy's, looking for something she's not even sure she knows what she's looking for. Faith shakes her head a little as she slips her fingers through Buffy's wet folds. Buffy mirrors her, slipping her hand between Faith's legs, her fingers expertly circling her clit, getting her worked up too damn fast.

Faith wants nothing more than to stay right where she is for the rest of the day, but she knows that's not happening. Not today, not tomorrow or the day after that.

"Faith," Buffy moans as Faith easily slides two fingers inside of her. Buffy slides her left hand to the back of Faith's neck and pulls her in for a deep, wildly passionate kiss.

If Faith didn't know any better, she'd say that Buffy loves kissing her like that. She sure can't seem to get enough. Faith's never been much of a kisser during sex, but with Buffy, everything she thought she was before was thrown right out the window.

This whole thing turned out to be a lot different than it had started out too. At first it was hard, rough, wild sex that turned into something tenderer, passionate. A level of intimacy that Faith wasn't used to since she never let it get that way. It scared her too, more than anything else in this world has, but it didn't stop her from going on and it sure didn't stop her now.

Faith knows that she's entering dangerous territory now. Her feelings for Buffy are coming around full circle and she can't put them behind her walls like she always does. Now that she's had Buffy in ways she only had before in her fantasies, she can't go back to the way it was before. The problem is, they have other bigger problems to deal with and trying on a relationship for size with Buffy is definitely not happening. Talk about shitty luck and horrible timing. Story of her life.

Buffy moans as Faith slows her thrusts and circles her thumb over her swollen clit. Buffy is barely touching her now, lost in the sensations and pleasure Faith is giving to her, but she doesn't care. She stopped caring about her own needs the instant this whole thing had started between them.

Faith moves her lips away from Buffy's hot mouth and lightly kisses a trail over her jaw, down her neck, over the few love bites she'd given her before. She breathes in deeply as Buffy's hips twitch, aching for more. Faith moves lower, her tongue sneaking out for a taste. Buffy's nipples are rock hard and she lazily circles over each on with her tongue before continuing her descent down Buffy's tight, lithe body. Buffy's hands are in her hair now, her breathing fast and shallow as Faith continues to slowly and firmly fuck her fingers inside of her.

She looks up at Buffy, her eyes roaming over her naked body, taking in the sight of Buffy before her before meeting Buffy's gaze. There has been many little looks exchanged between them, especially in the last hour, but this one is different. It's more intense and it makes Faith's heart beat a hell of a lot faster. It's scaring the hell out of her too, but she's not about to stop, not when she has no idea how much longer they have together before reality comes crashing back down on them.

"Come here," Buffy whispers as she pulls Faith a little. "Faith?"

Sighing heavily, Faith moves back up and instantly finds herself locked in another long, lingering kiss. Buffy pulls at her hand that's still between her legs and Faith hesitantly removes her fingers and lets Buffy pull her hand away.

"You okay?" Faith whispers, inhaling sharply as she tries to catch her breath.

"Just a little bit…sore," Buffy falters and she looks almost embarrassed. "It's nothing. It's just, we've been-and it's been a while for me. I don't think I can take anymore right now."

"Don't need to explain yourself to me, B. I get it. You're all fucked out right now," Faith replies with a smirk.

"Can you just-"

Buffy doesn't even finish what she's saying. Her lips are back on Faith's and Faith knows what she's trying to say. Buffy just wants to kiss her right now, nothing else and she's not sure why she isn't pulling away, why she isn't hopping off the cot and pulling on her clothes since they're quite obviously done here.

Faith knows why. Her feelings have taken over and are holding her hostage until she gives in to what she really wants.

She leans back, breaking their kiss and lies next to Buffy. All she can do is stare at her and she feels her lips curl into a smile as Buffy just stares up at her with so much emotion in her eyes Faith doesn't know how to take it. What she does know and it's a sudden overwhelming feeling that makes her feel like she can't breathe for a moment, is that this was more than just a fuck to forget how fucked up the world has become to Buffy. This was more to Buffy than needing to feel needed in a different way, than to feel a soft, warm body touch her in ways she hasn't been touched in a long time.

And it means so much more to Faith too, but she's not ready to come to terms with that just yet.

She's not ready to fall in love with Buffy all over again and lose herself the way she did before when she just couldn't handle it. It is different this time, she knows this now. This time Buffy isn't pushing her away, she's pulling her in.

She might not be ready, but she knows it is happening and she's completely powerless to stop it.

"Fuck," Faith mutters under her breath, unable to take her eyes off Buffy or shut off all the thoughts running through her mind.

"I think we should, uh, you know," Buffy stammers as she leans up on her elbows to look out the window across the basement. "It's starting to get dark."

"Right, yeah."

Faith lies on her side and watches as Buffy slides off the cot and gathers her clothes from the floor. She's mesmerized by the sight of Buffy and she knows that if this never happens between them again, it will forever be one of the better memories of her life. Sadly.

Buffy doesn't say a word as she dresses a few feet away from Faith. Her back is to her and Faith lazily reaches for her own clothes as she sits up on the cot. She dresses in equal silence and grabs the half-empty bottle of whiskey off the floor, hesitating before she screws off the cap and takes a swig. Buffy turns to her and she's frowning. Faith braces herself for a huge fallout, for Buffy to tell her it was all a mistake-the whole nine yards complete with a beating that'll equal what she got earlier.

But Buffy surprises her as she wraps her arms around her and kisses her nice and deep. Faith is starting to think she's been entirely wrong about Buffy and the way she thinks for a long time now, but Buffy doesn't give her a moment to think straight, not with the way she's kissing her. Like she means it. Like she feels something for her.

Like she's in love with her.

_Snap out of it, Lehane. She's not in love with you_, Faith tells herself as she gently pushes Buffy away from her. With a sad smile, Buffy turns and heads towards the stairs. She stops and looks back at Faith, looking like she's about to say something, but instead she shakes her head a little and ascends up the stairs slowly. The creak of the basement door jolts Faith back to reality and she screws the cap back on the bottle, tosses it on the cot and heads upstairs.

* * *

It's quiet tonight and it has Faith's nerves on edge. In the past twenty-one days, not one single night has ever been this quiet and Faith knows that can't be a good sign. She's been out with Buffy, Kennedy, and Xander for the better part of an hour and not once have they come across a single vampire or demon. Not even any of the Turok-Han have been lingering around as they usually are in small groups of three or four.

"What gives?" Kennedy mutters as she jogs to catch up to Faith who is ahead of Buffy and Xander by a good ten or so steps. "Is it just me or are you starting to wig a little bit here?"

"Not just you, Ken-doll."

"Been meaning to ask-"

"Don't," Faith stops her before she can say another word. She's not in the mood to talk to Kennedy right now.

"Fine. Whatever," Kennedy huffs and she motions up ahead. "Vamp."

"You want to call it?"

"Mine," Kennedy chuckles as she pulls out her stake from her back pocket of her worn capris.

Faith hangs back and watches as Kennedy makes her way towards the vamp about a hundred feet ahead. Normally she'd have called it before giving Kennedy the chance to, but she just isn't feeling it tonight. Buffy and Xander catch up to her and the three of them just look at each other before they turn their attention to Kennedy and the vamp she's stalking. The vamp is completely oblivious, which in the last twenty-one days, Faith has learned is a normal thing. The vamps no longer live in the world where they could rule the night. They answer to someone now, the First Evil, and it's completely turned their world around just as it's turned everyone else's that has managed to survive this long.

Kennedy wastes no time in dusting the vamp. No fighting, no clever quips, no beating around the bush, just straight to it. It's just how it is now. They all know they can't risk it, take their chances. Go for the kill as quickly as possible.

"Where to now?" Xander asks quietly as they wait for Kennedy to join them. "Bit too quiet out here tonight. Do you guys think something is up?"

"Who knows," Faith shrugs. "I vote we head east."

"To the Hellmouth?" Buffy asks and she just nods. It's too dangerous, Faith."

"We won't get too close, just close enough to see if something is up."

"No. We're not putting ourselves at risk."

"Then what do ya suggest we do, B? Go back to the house and wait 'til tomorrow comes?"

"I vote for that plan," Xander cuts in quickly.

"This is not-we're not _voting_ on anything, Xander," Buffy says and the tone of her voice tells that she's clearly annoyed. "We made a deal weeks ago. We stay away from the Hellmouth at all costs. End of discussion."

Faith has seen Buffy get like this far too many times in the past twenty-one days. Most of the time she just kept her mouth shut since she knows if she retaliates, it won't be of the good. This is one of those times. Buffy is the leader and Faith is just a follower like the others. There was a time where she would've done anything she could've to change that, but she's different now. Besides, it doesn't even matter to her whether Buffy leads them or not. She's kept them alive this long, hasn't she?

Buffy heads south without another word being said and Faith is the first to follow behind her, looking back at Kennedy and Xander, motioning at them to keep up. They cut through one of the worst hit neighbourhoods as quickly as they can. Faith keeps expecting one of the Turok-Han to come out from behind one of the burnt out cards or half demolishes houses and attack them, but there's nothing. It's too quiet out tonight and it's making everyone feel on edge. When they round the corner, it being obvious to Faith that Buffy is taking the long way back to the house, Buffy comes to a halt and grabs Faith, pulling her down behind a row of dense bushes on the front lawn of a burnt down house. Kennedy and Xander crouch down behind the other row of bushes, holding their breath as they stare at Buffy and wait.

Faith peers over the top of the bush, looking to see why Buffy has them taking cover. Up ahead there's a bonfire burning in the middle of an empty parking lot with hundreds of Turok-Han surrounding it. The First in its true form is standing up at front of the crowd of his army. Faith has never seen an uglier son of a bitch in her life and if there's one thing in this world that scares her, it's seeing the First in its true form. It is something that only would've come in anyone's worst nightmare before, but now those nightmares have become real in this world.

Faith knows they got to get out of there and fast, but Buffy isn't moving. She's just watching. Waiting. Waiting for what, Faith doesn't know and isn't about to ask now.

Xander panics and starts running back in the direction they came. Buffy holds Faith back from going after him and they can only watch as three Turok-Han spot Xander and run after him. Faith feels sick to her stomach, helpless as she watches the Turok-Han easily catch up to Xander. Kennedy looks like she's about to run after, to help him, to save him, but she stays right where she is, hidden from the others as their attention is drawn away from the First and to Xander trying desperately to fight the three that have him surrounded.

Buffy grips on to Faith's arm hard. Faith knows she feels completely helpless right now too, but if they move or try to make a run for it, they'll be the next ones the Turok-Han go after. Faith would do anything to save Xander and she would if there weren't hundreds of other Turok-Han right there. She turns away as one of them grab on to Xander and wraps its hands around his neck. She just looks at Buffy, forcing her to look away. Buffy's eyes are full with tears as she looks into Faith's eyes. The sickening crack of Xander's neck makes Faith's stomach turn and Buffy's tears fall freely down her cheeks.

Faith isn't even sure how long they're hiding for before the Turok-Han start to go off in different directions as the fire burns out. With a quick look over the bushes to make sure the coast is clear, Buffy gives the signal to Faith and Kennedy to run. They don't stop until they reach the house and are safely inside. Buffy collapses on the floor by the stairs and starts crying, losing the strength she's had all this time with every heart-wrenching sob that comes out.

"What happened?" Willow asks as she runs into the hallway from the kitchen. "Where's Xander?"

"They-he's gone," Kennedy sobs as she wraps her arms around Willow. "He panicked and ran and they got him."

Faith kneels beside Buffy and wraps her arms around her, holding her tight. Buffy wraps her arms around her and cries into her neck, soaking her shirt and jacket with tears that won't stop. Faith is desperately trying to hold back her own tears, but she can't. they just lost Xander and they _needed_ him there with them. When Dawn comes running down the stairs, Buffy pushes Faith away and it's Dawn who is comforting her while Faith moves to stand off to the side.

"What happened?" Giles asks her softly as he puts a hand on her shoulder.

"We were headed back," Faith replies as they move into the dining room to talk away from the others. "Came across the First and a good chunk of its army in a parking lot about ten blocks from here. They were just standing around. Don't know why. We hid, knowing if we tried to go back, we'd be spotted. Xander panicked and ran. There were just too many of them out there, G. I would've gone after him if there weren't so fucking many of them."

Giles wipes away a few tears as they fall and he pulls out at chair at the table and sits down, sighing heavily as he buries his face into his hands and cries.

* * *

Buffy walks with Faith through the quiet streets early in the morning. They're on their way back to where Xander was killed. They're bringing him home where he belongs. Faith spent hours digging the grave in the backyard at the house while Buffy sat on the back steps and watched. And cried.

She can't deal with losing Xander. Not like that. Of all the nights he's gone out on patrol with her, Faith, and Kennedy, not once has he panicked. Not like that. She kept trying to figure out all night long why he panicked, why he ran. She doesn't know. She'll never know. Maybe he lost all hope that they could keep fighting and win and decided that he'd had enough. Buffy doesn't want to think that's why, but deep in her heart she knows he'd given up and chose to run, to _die_, and for what?

"You didn't have to come," Faith says softly as they walk down the middle of the empty road. "I could've brought him back on my own."

"I need to be here," Buffy replies with a frown, fighting off the tears, not sure how she has anything left to cry anymore.

"B?"

"Yeah?"

"If you need me for anything, I'm here for you. You know that, right?"

"I know, Faith."

Buffy manages a small smile, wondering how everything changed so quickly between them since the events that unfolded in the basement just yesterday. She feels guilty for smiling and it quickly disappears as if it was never even there. She won't allow herself to feel anything but grief right now even though she knows that the last thing Xander would want is for her to be emotionally crippled over his death. He'd want her to keep going, to stay strong, to try to save the world and even smile when she found a fleeting moment of happiness.

They come to a stop when they see his body lying lifelessly on the street. Buffy cannot hold the tears back and she grabs on to Faith, holding on to her tight as Faith wraps her arms around her and just holds her. Feeling Faith's arms around her is comforting and it makes her feel…safe and loved. Faith kisses her on the forehead before moving away from her embrace. She kneels next to Xander and murmurs a few words Buffy can't quite make out. Buffy wipes away her tears as Faith picks up Xander's body, hoists him over her shoulder and begins the walk back to the house as quickly as she can move.

Buffy stays behind, looking down at the spot where his life had been taken from him. She picks up his crossbow and runs her fingers over the smooth wood and the trigger. He'd gotten so good, his aim dead on every single time. He was quick to fire and had covered her and Faith far too many times to count.

Wiping away the few tears that have fallen, she catches up to Faith quickly, walking ahead of her, unable to stand the sight of Xander's body slung over her shoulder. Once they're back at the house, Buffy is the first one out in the backyard, still holding on to Xander's weapon of choice, ready to bury it with him. The others join her and Faith gently places it body into the grave she spent hours digging. Buffy can't take her eyes off Faith as she climbs out of the hole in the ground and wipes the dirt on her hands off on her jeans.

There are no words, just tears as Faith grabs the shovel and begins to bury him. Dawn is the one holding Buffy as they watch her, every shovelful of dirt that's thrown into the grave weighing heavily on all their hearts. Buffy hates this, she hates losing the ones she loves with all her heart, the ones who mean the world to her. Each and every one of them will die, she knows this and feels it but she tries not to think about it at all. She's quickly losing hope even though on the outside she tries to make it look like she's still holding on, still fighting for the greater good. She isn't even sure why she's fighting anymore. She knows they don't stand a chance and now with just six of them left, what chance do they have now?

The others head back inside as soon as Faith drops the shovel to the ground. Buffy stays behind with Faith and they stand there, side by side, looking down at the fresh earth where Xander has been put to rest. Buffy is the one who reaches for Faith's hand and she just holds on to her hand tight. Right now, Faith feels like her anchor, her last strand of hope in this fight to save the world even though they all know it's far beyond saving now.

The darkening sky reminds them another night is upon them and they head back inside, joining the others in the living room. There is nothing but silence as they go through their weapons, gearing themselves up for another long night.

"Are you sure going out tonight is a good idea?" Dawn asks, the first to say a single word since Buffy and Faith had come back with Xander's body. "Don't you think we should just stay in tonight?"

"No," Buffy says with a shake of her head. "Kennedy?" She says as she turns to her. "Stay behind and keep an eye on the others, please?"

"Will do," Kennedy replies with a nod.

Willow is a complete wreck, silently crying as she sits on the couch. Kennedy moves to sit next to her and comforts her as Willow cries into her neck. Buffy can't stand the sight of Willow crying like that and she turns to Faith as she picks up a short sword.

"Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Faith replies with a forced smile.

Buffy leads the way out of the house, the sky growing darker by the second. Buffy has a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach as they head east, straight to the Hellmouth. Buffy is sure Faith is going to say something to her, but she's silent as she walks close beside Buffy.

Buffy has no idea what she's going to do tonight. Grief has filled her and it feels like the end of the world all over again. She knows going towards the Hellmouth is dangerous, but she doesn't even care anymore. Whatever the First has planned, she knows the only way they can stop whatever is coming next is to go straight to the source of the problem.

Faith is the one who stops Buffy about a block away from the remains of Sunnydale High. They hadn't been back there since that day.

"B, this isn't such a good idea," she whispers.

"Weren't you the one who wanted to come here last night, Faith?"

"With just the two of us, it's dangerous."

"Even if we had Kennedy with us, it's still dangerous," Buffy says, the coldness in her voice making her shiver at the sound of it. "We have to stop this, Faith. It's only going to get worse."

"It's already getting worse, B," she whispers as she places a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you giving up?"

"No. Never."

"Then let's go, Faith. I'm tired of standing around, feeling like we're doing _nothing_ to save the world from becoming worse than it already is!"

Buffy is also tired of feeling so hopeless now too, but she keeps fighting that feeling. She has to. She has no other choice. She can't give up because she knows the instant that she does, the First wins. It's exactly what the First has been waiting for, for her and the others to give up.

They come to a stop at the corner and take cover behind a burnt out Jeep. What remains of the school is just partial walls, the rest of it crumbled to the ground. There's a light coming from where the Hellmouth seal is and Buffy shivers as she closes her eyes. The feeling in the pit of her stomach is no longer guilt and grief. It's danger.

But the grounds are empty, void of the First and its army of Turok-Han. Buffy gives Faith a little nod and they move quickly towards the remains of the school, taking cover again behind a school bus close to where the front doors used to be.

Buffy grabs at her chest, collapsing to the ground as a whirlwind of images swirl through her mind. Faith is calling her name, holding on to her as the pain shakes through her entire body.

_Death. Blood to open the seal, blood to close it. Chaos, a fight to the death, the First disappearing, losing it's corporeal form as each drop of blood closes the seal. Faith's face, her eyes filled with tears as Buffy's lifeless body lies beside the now closed seal..._

When the images fade, Buffy opens her eyes. She can see the faint flickering of the candles nearby and Giles is at her side, checking her pulse. She's back at the house, lying on her bed and Faith is standing by the window with a cigarette dangling from her lips.

"Wha-what happened, Giles?" Buffy whispers as she tries to sit up.

"Faith said you had some kind of a seizure, an attack of sorts. She brought you right back the moment you stopped convulsing. Do you remember any of it, Buffy? Do you have any idea what brought it on?"

Buffy shakes her head no despite remembering every last second of the things she'd seen in her head. She knows it was a vision, but she doesn't know what brought it on. A part of her has a feeling that those visions were a lie, planted in her mind by the First as another one of its games it likes to play. She shakes her head again as she sits up in bed and leans back against the headboard.

"I just-there was pain all over and I-"

"Do rest," Giles stops her. "It's been a trying month, and last night was a hard night for all of us. Perhaps a few days of rest will do you good."

"We can't-"

"B, whether we go out there or not, things ain't changing out there. For once just stop being so fucking stubborn and rest."

Giles smiles a little at Faith before retreating out of the bedroom slowly. Faith moves over to the bed and sits at Buffy's side. Buffy just stares at her, having so much to say to her and nothing at all at the same time.

"How ya feeling?" Faith asks her softly and Buffy just shrugs. "Ya scared me out there, B."

"I-I'm sorry."

"Now that G ain't in the room, you wanna tell me what happened?"

"I don't remember!"

"Liar," Faith snaps and she shakes her head, taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. "What happened to you, Buffy? I know you saw something when you started fucking convulsing and shit."

"It was-the First was just messing with me, that's all."

"Messing with you how, B?"

Buffy shakes her head and Faith groans in annoyance. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Guess I should've expected that, huh? Ain't nothing changes between us. Take one step forward and a hundred steps back."

"Faith-"

"Be real with me here, B. What happened between us was just a one off, wasn't it? Didn't mean shit to you, right?"

Buffy sighs and isn't sure how to answer that question. She isn't even sure why Faith is bringing it up. She wonders if it really meant a lot more to Faith than she thought it did. To her, it was about feeling something more and giving in to the feelings she'd been feeling and denying for far too long. She knows she has to answer this question carefully or the outcome could be disastrous for them both in more ways than she can even count right now.

"It wasn't just a one off to me, Faith. I-I think I wanted to be with you more than I realized I did."

"And now?"

"Now?"

"Ya still want me, B?"

Buffy isn't sure how things got to this point, where they're talking about being together instead of what she saw when they were close to the Hellmouth.

"I sure as hell still want you," Faith whispers as she moves closer to Buffy on the bed. She's smiling too, a real genuine smile that Buffy can feel all over. "You don't gotta answer me right now, B. Sorry for bringing this up, I just haven't been able to stop thinking about it, about you."

Buffy isn't sure whether to think Faith is being sweet right now or if this is just a sad attempt for her to get into Buffy's pants again. But the thought crosses her mind that Faith isn't just trying to score with her again, she's being genuinely honest with her. But Buffy keeps reminding herself that this is Faith and what she wants, Faith can't offer her. Faith doesn't do _love_ or relationships, far as she knows and what's changed if she's suddenly decided that is what she wants from Buffy now?

Buffy's head hurts. Not just from over-thinking about what Faith's intentions are, but from that vision she'd had before.

"Faith, right now I-I think maybe we should just, you know, rest for a couple of days, like Giles said and then we can-we'll talk about this some other time."

"Right, yeah," Faith mutters as she gets up from the bed and shakes her head. "Sorry for bringing this up when we got all this other shit going on. Just can't get you outta my head, you know?"

Buffy nods a little, but it's unseen by Faith as she exits the bedroom, leaving Buffy alone with the too many thoughts circling through her mind. She wonders if she should've talked to Faith about the vision she'd had, whether she believes it to be real or just another trick the First is playing on her. She's never given Faith that chance, she's never given herself the chance to try to trust Faith like that. It's never too late, she knows that, but with Xander being dead and seeing how he had died, she knows that at any day, any one of them could completely lose it and try to run when danger is lurking nearby.

Faith was being honest with her, being real, showing a little bit of how she feels about her without holding back. Buffy only wishes it could be that easy for her. It's never easy when it comes to expressing how she feels about someone else with words.

Struggling to find enough strength to get out of bed, she heads downstairs and finds Faith where she knew she would find her, in the basement lounging on the cot, smoking a cigarette and drinking vodka-maybe white rum-straight from the bottle.

"B, if you came to-"

"Shut up," Buffy says as she grabs the bottle from her hands and places it on the ground out of reach. "I came to tell you that I can't get you out of my head either, Faith. I don't know what this all means between us, I don't know if I can even _think_ about what it means right now. We've been through too much lately and after last night and tonight, I'm so very _tired_ of everything that just keeps on happening to us, Faith."

Buffy moves to straddle Faith's legs before Faith can even move. Buffy knows she wants to run, to not have this conversation right now, but that's too bad. Buffy _wants_ to have this conversation now. She's tired of running from this, whatever _this_ is with Faith. She needs to figure out what it all means once and for all. She's not about to deny that she needs to feel something else other than pain, hopelessness, fear, and guilt right now either.

"But I've realized something," Buffy whispers as she struggles to hold Faith's gaze. "We keep losing the ones who mean the most to us and I don't think, no I _know_ I'm not ready to lose you. I don't even have you and I'm already afraid of losing you."

Buffy doesn't know where the words are coming from, but she knows she has to mean them if they're coming out so freely right now. Faith still isn't looking at her and it's driving her crazy right now. She gently cups her face and forces her to meet her gaze.

"Before you say that I'm fucking with you, Faith, I'm not."

"Got that much," Faith breathes out slowly and a small smile curls over her lips. "I-I care about you, Buffy. A lot. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here right now. You know that, right?"

"I know."

"Try not to think too much about what this is," Faith continues as she moves her lips a little closer to Buffy's, stopping short of kissing her. "Just let it be whatever it is and try not to think about it, yeah? Thinking about it just makes it more fucking complicated and that's the last fucking thing we need in our lives right now is another complication fucking with our heads."

Buffy's smiling now and even though she's trying not to think, she can't help but wonder how they got to this point. Just a day ago, before things happened between them, they were barely friends, barely spoke to one another, barely spent any time alone and now? Now Buffy is straddling Faith's lap, they're having a pretty intense conversation about _them_ and she's just a breath away from kissing Faith with all that she has. Life always works in the strangest ways, this Buffy has experience with. What she doesn't have any experience with is how to handle whatever is happening between her and Faith right now.

Faith is like a magnet and she's being drawn in and she has absolutely no power to stop herself.

"Just let it be? Can it really be that easy?"

"Won't know if we don't try, B."

"And you want to? Try, I mean?"

"Would've taken off running before yesterday if I didn't wanna try, B. You're worth sticking around for, you know that right?"

Buffy can feel her cheeks flush as Faith smiles ever so sweetly at her. She had no idea Faith could be so sweet, not like this anyway. She can't even believe it's gotten to this point either, but with the way the world has changed, anything that can give her just a sliver of happiness, she'll take it.

"I don't do the whole bring you "chocolates and flowers" thing and taking you on a date ain't exactly happening at this point with the way things are out there," Faith murmurs, her lips softly brushing against Buffy's as she wraps her arms around her. "I don't know what I can give you, but I know of one thing I can," she leans back, wiggling her eyebrows as she slips her hands down to grab Buffy's ass. "And plenty of that if you're down for it."

Buffy laughs and pulls her in for a deep, passionate kiss.

She needs to feel more than all the bad, negative energy she's been feeling. And boy does Faith sure feels good to her right now.

* * *

Dawn shivers as she sits curled up on the couch, watching through the slats over the window as lightning streaks over the dark, storm sky. She's trying so hard to ignore what she knows is going on down in the basement, but the moans can be heard clearly no matter where she is in the house. She's not stupid either, she scoffed when Willow tried to tell her that Buffy and Faith were down there sparring. Right, "sparring", as if she'd believe that.

She knows otherwise. She's known since the day before what happened between them. She knows that it's something that's been building up between them for longer than she can remember. Is she happy about it? Angry about it? She doesn't know. Her heart is still broken over losing Xander just like everyone else's heart is broken.

And she kind of hates that Buffy is down there with Faith, feeling everything else than what is reality.

She could do what she used to do, throw a tantrum, act like a child, but she knows she's no longer a child. She's had to grow up and she had to grow up fast when the world changed that day. She's no longer a child. Far from it.

"Hey, Kiddo," Kennedy says with a small smile as she sits down next to her on the couch. "Shouldn't sit so close to the window when there's a storm going on outside."

"Whatever."

"Why don't you come upstairs and hang out with Will and me for a bit?"

"No."

Kennedy frowns as a crack of thunder shakes the house. "You shouldn't be alone right now, Dawnie."

"I am so what does it matter? You have Willow, Buffy has Faith, Giles has...his scotch," she groans and rolls her eyes. "Who do I have now? Nobody. Xander was always here for me and now he's just gone."

"Buffy has Faith?"

"Don't be stupid, Kennedy. We all know what they're doing downstairs right now and don't tell me they're just "sparring". I'm not a little kid anymore! I know exactly what they're doing down there right now and before you say it, yes I'm traumatized and yes I'd love to embarrass the hell out of Buffy right now, but what's the point? She has Faith and she's...happy."

"Is she?"

"Even with Xander gone now, I just know-no, I _feel_ how happy she is when she's with Faith. That's kind of stupid isn't it?"

"No."

"I know how hard it is to find happiness now," Dawn continues and she wipes away a few tears that escape even though she's trying so hard not to cry right now. "Kennedy, I'm losing hope. I keep thinking this is never going to end and that one by one, we'll have to watch each other die until there's none of us left."

"Don't think like that, Kiddo. Buffy'll figure it out. Doesn't she always?"

"Yeah, but this time it's different and we all know it."

"Maybe," Kennedy shrugs and she forces a smile as she hugs Dawn tight. "But don't ever lose hope, Kiddo. Xander might've, but that doesn't mean you have-"

"Xander was strong, stronger than me, and he lost it. He lost that hope. Who's to say that won't happen to me next?"

Dawn is becoming hysterical and she shoves Kennedy away from her as hard as she can. She's letting her anger slide into place and she's so _tired_ of fighting it now. She's angry they lost. She's angry they have to keep running and hiding and fighting for their lives every single day. She's angry that Buffy is slipping away and finding love-or whatever it is with Faith when she should be focused on trying to save the world. She's angry Xander lost hope, ran and ended up dead. She's angry she's starting to feel the same way.

When will it end?

"What's going on?" Willow asks tiredly as she joins them in the living room. "Come away from the window, Dawn. It's not safe."

"No, nothing is safe anymore, is it?" Dawn snaps as Kennedy gets off the couch and goes to stand at Willow's side. "How can we stop this? We _can't_! And before you lecture me about losing hope, take a good look around, Willow. We're all losing hope that we can save the world. It's not Buffy that has the weight of the world on her shoulders, it on all of us right now and we're not strong enough to save what's left of it!"

Dawn is in hysteric tears as Willow and Kennedy pull her up from the couch and wrap their arms around her.

She's not the only one losing hope and she can feel it as she feels the tears from Willow and Kennedy as they hold on to her tight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: Hope you guys enjoyed reading this one. It was a nice change of pace for me to write this, breathed new life into finding inspiration to keep writing WDKU. Until the next one... :)**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

The ground shakes more with every crash of thunder. Small earthquakes quiver, shaking the house between the great crashes of thunder. It sounds like the end of the world outside and Faith knows it might as well be, but it doesn't stop her from being with the woman she's so desperately in love with and who actually wants to be with her now. Crazy, isn't it? After all they've been through, she finally gets one thing, the one thing she's been wanting for so long and it couldn't have come at the worst time.

And if she dies tonight, she'll die knowing that Buffy wants her like she wants her. She keeps feeling like she's dreaming, but with Buffy kissing her so hard, so deep, Buffy's fingers buried to the hilt, fucking her so good, she knows it isn't a dream.

She doesn't want to try to figure out how Buffy had suddenly changed her tune from a cold-hearted bitch to wanting her this way. It's not worth trying to figure it out since Buffy has always been hard for her to read. She'll take whatever Buffy is giving her and give in return. Even if this all ends badly, Faith doesn't give a fuck.

At least she'd die happy, which before yesterday seemed like that would never happen. The dying happy part, at least.

"Fuck," Faith groans as she breaks apart from Buffy's lips, gasping for much needed air. She moans loudly as Buffy's fingers curl inside her and she nearly throws Buffy off her as she arches off the cot. "Fuck, B...just like that, baby."

She closes her eyes as Buffy bites down on her pulse point, hard. And she's tumbling over the edge in seconds, having no control over her body as she cries out with passion as wave after wave of ecstasy washes over her.

_God, I love you, Buffy_, she thinks to herself, wishing she could just say the words instead of holding back. It's not like she needs to say it. She can just _feel_ that Buffy knows just how she feels about her. Or she could be wrong and for all Buffy knows she's just feeling the lust, the passion, and that feeling of letting the rest of the world just slip away as they become lost within each other.

Over and over again.

As the house begins to shake more violently, they scramble for their clothes, knowing this is more than just a shake from the violent thunder outside. Together they run upstairs and a fearful Dawn is screaming that there's an earthquake. Faith moves quick, grabbing an empty duffel bag and grabbing as many supplies as she can while the others do the same.

They run outside into the front yard as the ground begins to shake more violently. Everyone is confused and scared, not knowing if this is a natural earthquake or if its coming from the Hellmouth. Faith stays close to Buffy as they all look to Giles for some kind of an answer. He shakes his head as they look around the neighbour, watching as a few houses give and crumble to the ground.

"We gotta get outta here!" Faith yells as she tries to stay steady on her feet.

"And go where?" Buffy asks and she shakes her head as she slings the strap of her bag over her shoulder and grabs Dawn's hand. She tries to calm her down to no avail and looks helplessly at Faith.

"Let's get the hell outta town," Faith says and the others nod their head quickly in agreement. "We'll have to walk it. Run if we can. You guys yell if you can't keep up, you hear me?"

Faith is grateful it's not raining out, but she doesn't know how long it's gonna hold off with the constant lightning and thunder that's surrounding them. She knows the quickest way out of town is going to take them a while on foot and it's not the safest route either, but they have to at least try to make it out alive.

"Is it the Hellmouth that's all rumbly?" Buffy asks Giles as they start out quickly down the street, keeping their eyes peeled for any demons lurking around, ready to strike. "Giles?"

"I uh-I believe it is," he replies with a slight stammer.

Faith is starting to think maybe she jinxed it when she thought about if she died tonight, she'd die happy. She shakes her head and takes the lead, looking back at Buffy as she stays right at Dawn's side. What she wouldn't give to be back in the basement with Buffy, naked and sweaty with hands in deliciously naughty places.

They make it a couple of miles from the house before the ground finally stops shaking, before the lightning and the thunder come to a halt. It's quiet, too quiet and they take a breather, using what's left of a shop on Main Street for shelter in case they're being hunted.

"What is going on out here?" Buffy asks Faith as she moves to sit on the old wood box Faith is sitting on. "Faith?"

"Don't have a fucking clue, B. Whatever it is, it's definitely not good."

"No it's...definitely not," she whispers and she frowns as she leans into Faith a little bit. "I can't stop thinking about what I saw in that vision, Faith. It's scaring me. What if it wasn't the First putting it in my head? What if that is what has to happen in order for us to stop it?"

"Hate to break it to ya, B, but I think the Powers that Be stopped looking out for our kind the second the First won."

"Faith-"

"What did you see anyway?" Faith asks, hoping that maybe now Buffy will tell her more of what she'd seen. Buffy frowns and moves in closer to Faith. With a sigh, Faith slides an arm around her shoulders and just holds her. "Was it bad?"

"Yeah," Buffy nods and Faith follows her gaze over to where Giles, Dawn, Kennedy and Willow are huddled together not that far from them. "We have to close the seal."

"Close it? B, we can't even get _near_ it, how the hell are we going to close it?"

"I don't know I-I just know it has to be me. I'm the one that has to-"

"No," Faith says in a firm whisper, not wanting the others to overhear their conversation. "There's no way you're doing this alone."

"Faith, I-"

"Buffy, listen to me. If I had it my way, we'd still be down in the basement right now," she says, wiggling her eyebrows a little as Buffy looks right at her. "But obviously I never have things go my way. Just the way it is and honestly, I never expected that to change when the world ended. But, I did finally have something go my way, even if it was just for a little while and please stop me before I start with all that sappy, happy, romantic crap."

Buffy laughs a little but the smile on her face quickly fades. "I'd give anything to be able to have this with you and not have the world be the way it is now."

"Maybe we'll get it, B? Maybe we can change the world, save it? What else did you see in that vision?"

"We needed blood to open the seal, we need blood to close it. When it closes, the First is dead."

"Can't be that easy, can it?"

"I don't know, Faith. It's just what I saw," she replies, quickly looking away from her.

Faith groans. She know's Buffy is holding something else back and she can see that it terrifies her. She also knows that there's more to why Buffy came to her in the basement hours before and she knows for a fact it has a lot to do with what she'd seen in that vision, the very same things she's not telling Faith right now. She doesn't want to bring any of that up-the basement stuff any way-since there's no point in having that discussion with the others so close by.

Faith gently turns Buffy's head and kisses her softly, feeling the hot tears fall from Buffy's eyes and roll down her cheeks. She's a little surprised too that Buffy isn't stopping her since they both know the other's are now watching them. She's also amazed as how far they've come and she knows that feeling isn't going to go away any time soon, at least not as long as Buffy keeps letting her in, letting her kiss her and be affectionate with her in the ways she is now.

"Hmm, Faith?" Buffy sighs as she pulls back from the kiss. She wipes her tears and frowns a little as she stares into Faith's eyes. "I think I know what we need to do."

"I think I know too," Faith replies softly. "But I'm not letting you do it alone, B. We're in this together now."

"I know. But the others?" Buffy says as she looks over at Giles, Dawn, Kennedy and Willow and sighs heavily. "We need to get them somewhere safe."

"Where, B?"

"Maybe that house we found the other night is still standing after that earthquake?"

"Doubt it."

"Where else can we take them, Faith?"

"Find a car that still works and tell them to get the hell outta town as fast as they can."

"They won't leave us behind."

Faith groans. She knows that much is true. They all had an unspoken pack, to never leave each other behind no matter what the circumstances were at the time. Her heart breaks knowing that Xander should've been here with them right now. He should be here helping them make the right decision. He usually was the one who settled things, brought some logic into whatever choices were being made. It fucking breaks her heart that he gave up so easily, gave into his fear and ran.

They sit there for a while, nobody saying a word. Faith is thinking of what they can do, how they can convince the others to get out of town while she and Buffy head to the Hellmouth to try to close the seal and put an end to the end of the world as they know it.

It's not going to be easy to convince them, especially Dawn, to leave without her and Buffy, but Faith knows she has to _try_ something. If Buffy thinks that closing the seal the the way to end things, then she has to trust her on that and be there right at her side when it happens.

Death or not. She made a promise to herself to stay at Buffy's side when the world changed and she wasn't about to back out now.

* * *

It's about an hour before sunrise. They'd spent the entire night holed up in what is left of the shop they'd found. Faith groans as she stretches, waking from her light sleep. If it weren't for Willow casting a barrier around all of them, they wouldn't have made it through the night. She turns to look at Buffy who had been at her side all night, but she's no longer there and neither is her weapons.

"Shit!" Faith says loudly, causing the others to wake up with a jolt. "She's gone!"

"What?" Willow mumbles.

"Buffy is gone!"

Everyone looks around in alarm before it's Giles who goes to Faith first. He looks at her intensely as he places a hand on her tense shoulder.

"Are you certain she's gone and hasn't just gone to take care of, ahem, personal business away from prying eyes?"

"She took her weapons," Faith says as she points to the nearly empty bag Buffy had packed in the panic to leave the house the night before. "She's gone, Giles, and it's not personal business she's gone to take care of either."

"What on earth are you talking about? Come, let's make some tea and-"

"Forget your fucking tea, Giles! Buffy is going to _die_!" Faith yells and she sees Dawn flinch out of the corner of her eye. She holds back the tears, a mix of angry and hurt tears and she pulls Giles to the side. "Look, Buffy had a vision when she had that seizure that knocked her out cold. She believes this vision is true, that she can stop all of this," Faith says in a low voice as she waves her arms around at their surroundings.

"A vision? Did she tell you exactly what this vision involved?"

"That she has to close the seal. Didn't get too many details outta her. You know what she's like."

"Close the seal? But that is impossible! We've already looked into finding ways to close the seal and even if we did find a way, you know how impenetrable that school is now. The First's army surrounds it and fills it. There's no way in or out alive."

"She told me she saw in her vision that blood was used to open the seal, blood is what is needed to close it and that she is the one who has to do it. When the seal closes, the First is dead."

"No, no, it cannot be that simple," Giles mutters, fear flashing in his usually lifeless, hard eyes. "She'll be killed before she gets near that school! It's a death-wish."

"What if there's something we can do to help her, Giles?" Willow asks as she joins them in the corner they're standing in. "What if I can cast a spell, maybe some kind of invincibility spell that last just as long as she needs to get to the seal?"

Faith has an idea and she's hoping it'll work just as long as Buffy hasn't gotten too far and is on the verge of getting herself killed. She swallows that fear, that lump in her throat. Buffy isn't dead. If she was, she'd _feel_ it just like the last time Buffy had died fighting Glory.

"You wanna invisible-cloak me too while you're at it, Red?" Faith asks and Willow's eyes widen but she nods her head yes. "I'm going after her."

"Are you going to stop her from doing this?" Giles asks.

"No. I'm going to help her and try to save her from getting herself killed. Again," she says, a bitter tone in her voice by the last word that comes out of her mouth. She looks at Willow in the eye and sighs. "I need you guys to get out of town. I don't want to hear any "buts" here. Buffy's not here and I'm calling the shots. It's not safe here and we all know it and who the hell knows what's gonna happen once we're down there trying to close that seal up."

"Where are we going to go?"

"Anywhere but here. Get as far away as you can. When all is said and done, Buffy and me? We'll meet ya. You know that gas station about twenty miles from town? Meet us there. You guys should be safe there for a little while."

Faith isn't losing hope that they'll all make it out of this alive. She _can't_ lose hope. Not now. She's gotta stay strong, not just for herself but for Buffy too. She knows Dawn isn't going to go without a fight, but now that Willow and Giles it seems is on board with the plan for them to get out of town, dragging Dawn along might not be as hard as she originally thought it'd be.

At least not now that Buffy has gone and done the stupidest thing she's ever done and head for the Hellmouth seal on her own.

Willow gathers up some supplies she needs to make this invisibility spell work. Faith discusses a few plans, mostly on how they'd get out if the worst were to happen. Faith doesn't want to bring it up that the Hellmouth collapsing isn't the worst thing that could happen right now, it's Buffy dying. Or her. Or both of them.

"This is a bloody careless and stupid idea," Giles mutters as Faith gathers up just her weapons, strapping the axe to her back. Buffy had taken the scythe. Of course she did. "You do realize you are putting your life at risk as well?"

"I know and don't care. If I can save her, that's all that matters."

"You care for her," Giles says with a soft smile.

"I'm in love with her, G."

His face reddens slightly as Faith says it with such honesty even she has to blush a little at hearing herself say the words.

"And to be honest with ya, I want to help her save the world. I wanna see where things can go between us. I think she feels the same way, or at least a little. Either way, I wanna see what we can be even if it all ends in disaster."

"I'm sure everything will work out in the end."

"And if not, at least I can say I tried, right?" Faith says and Giles nods his head sadly.

"Here," Willow says as she comes over to Faith and hands her two marble like orbs glowing a soft blue. "Break them over yourself, anywhere and poof, invisible. I've made it so you and Buffy can still see and communicate with each other. You should be safe from being detected by any of the Turok-Han, maybe the First, not sure about Bringers since they see a lot for a bunch of blind, mute guys."

"And how do we end it?" Faith asks as she safely tucks the orbs into the inner pocket of her worn jacket, more so just a vest now that the sleeves have been ripped and torn off.

"Say these words, sit alica finietur, and it'll be over, but don't do it until you're safe."

"Latin huh? Never been one for Latin," Faith mutters and she searches through her bag for something to write this down on knowing she'll forget it when the time comes to recite the words to end the spell. She pulls out her pack of cigarettes, the last full pack she has. She hands Willow a marker and the pack. "Write it down for me, will ya, Red?"

"It's just Latin for "let this spell be ended" but since neither of you are a witch, saying it in plain English isn't going to do the job."

"Thanks for this, Red."

"Just," Willow sighs as she grabs on to Faith's arm before she can leave. "Can you promise me something?"

"Can't promise ya anything right now."

Faith doesn't say another word, doesn't bother saying goodbye to the others. There's no need. She'll see them again outside of town once all is said and done. She heads towards the school, grateful the sun has fully risen and there's not a single cloud in the hazy sky. It's already stifling hot, but the heat doesn't bother Faith. She's actually gotten quite used it it.

Just makes her wish she brought some water though.

By the time she reaches the school and the barrier the Turok-Han had formed around it, she spots Buffy hiding out behind a burnt out US army tank. Faith quickly makes her way towards her, keeping her eyes open for Bringers since those are the only things they have to worry about during the day and being so close to the school. At least what remains of it and it is more than what was there the other day too.

"What the fuck are ya doing, B?" Faith asks in a hushed whisper as she crouches on the ground next to her. "Woke up and you were fucking gone."

"I told you, I know what has to be done."

"And ya were planning on walking right in there? B, they'll kill ya before you set foot in that school and you know it."

Buffy frowns and she sits on the ground, her back to the side of the tank. "Did you know the army was here?"

"No, but we did see a few of their vehicles, couple soldiers. Didn't think much of it. Guess they retreated before it was too late. Still doesn't answer my question, B. Just how are ya planning on getting in there without getting yourself killed?"

"I'm still thinking."

"You were planning to do this all alone, weren't you?" Faith asks her bitterly and she clenches her jaw tight as Buffy looks away from her, avoiding her intense gaze. "Come on, B. We're in this together, remember?"

"Where are the others?" Buffy asks, completely ignoring everything Faith is saying to her which aggravates Faith even more so. "Are they safe?"

"Headed out of town. We're gonna meet them at that gas station twenty miles out."

"Are you sure?"

"They're gone, B. Or getting gone. Either way, they're going where it's safe," Faith replies and she hears something coming from inside the school, a crash of sorts. She peers over the side of the tank to see if she can see anything, but the windows that haven't been broken have been blacked out and she can't see a damn thing.

"Then go with them, Faith. This is up to me. I have to do this."

"We're gonna do it _together_," Faith says as she grabs both of Buffy's hands. "B, I ain't giving up on you. I ain't gonna stand by and know you died when it could've been different. You don't gotta die to save the world. Already did that once, girlfriend."

Buffy smiles a little but doesn't take her hands away from Faith's. She looks so sad and yet so determined to do this that it's breaking Faith's heart.

"Look," Faith says as she pulls out the orbs Willow had conjured up for both of them. "Got a way to get in and get the job done and get out without being seen."

"What?"

"Willow. Magic. Invisibility spell."

Buffy doesn't say a word as she takes one of the orbs out of Faith's hand and looks at it, losing herself in the soft blue light its giving off. Faith looks around, knowing they aren't gonna make it far outta town on foot. They need an escape plan if things go bad. She spots a dirt bike under a crushed pick-up truck. It'll take two of them to get that out from under it and she hopes to hell the thing still works.

"B?" Faith whispers, getting her attention again. "I refuse to let you do this alone. We're the Chosen Two. If we're gonna save the world from what it's become, we're gonna do it together."

"I-I have to do this, Faith."

"And I'm gonna be right there, watching your back, B. It's what I'm here for. Didn't stick around just so I could try to get in your pants, which you know, finally managed to and now you're gonna go off and get yourself killed 'cause you're too stubborn to let me come with ya."

Buffy laughs a little and pulls Faith in for a brief kiss. "You're so stubborn, you know that, right?"

"I know I am. So are you."

"Do you have a plan, Faith?"

"Use this invisibility spell, get in, get down to the seal, use both our blood to close it up then get the hell outta dodge. Then, I was thinking, once we're safe I'm gonna kick your ass for pulling such a stupid stunt leaving us all like that, girlfriend."

Faith winks at her and pulls her in for another kiss, letting it linger but it's nothing intense. That can wait until after they save the world from what it's become. Faith refuses to think about what'll happen if they don't make it out there alive.

She's gotta go in having hope, right? It's all they got left and she's gonna hold on to that with all that she's got. Just like she's gonna hold on to Buffy and get her out of there alive. With her.

* * *

Giles pulls the car into the abandoned gas station and the others scramble out, heading inside the small shack as quickly as possible. Bringers were chasing them as soon as they reached the edge of town. Although they were on foot, they were still fast and they'd catch up to them eventually.

"Willow, a barrier spell needs to be put in place, now," Giles says as he and Kennedy barricade the door and two small windows with whatever they can find in the small shack. "_Now_, Willow. Time is not on our side."

"I-I'm working on it," she stammers and she sits in the middle of the floor, reciting the chant for the barrier spell she'd cast so many times in the last twenty-two days.

Giles can only stand by the window that is mostly blocked with stacks of old crates. He peers through the sliver of an opening, looking for any sign that the Bringers are getting close. He can't help but breathe a sigh of relief as he sees the shimmer of electric blue surround the shack and disappear. He turns to the others, wishing things could've turned out much differently.

Wishing was the stupid thing to want and he knows this. He hasn't lost hope. He believes in Buffy and he believes in Faith. He believes in all of them. They'll make it through this and get on with their lives. Things _will_ get better.

"Giles, they'll be here soon, right?" Dawn asks softly. "We can't fight all those Bringers on our own. We _need_ them here."

"We can try," Kennedy cuts in as she holds her sword. "You're forgetting I'm a slayer too. I can hold my own against these bastards."

"There's over twenty of them!" Dawn nearly yells at her. "We need more than one slayer here right now!"

"Hush, children," Giles snaps at them. "Now is not the time for this. We'll deal with it as they come. Let us hope the barrier will keep them out."

They had never encountered Bringers in any of the places they had been hiding out in the last twenty-two days. Nobody was even sure if the barrier would work against them. Giles leans against the wall, keeping a watchful eye out. His mind wanders, his imagination taking over, dreaming of a world that this world used to be before the First won.

"We need a plan," Dawn says and she looks to Giles. "Giles? We need a plan!"

"We wait."

"No," Dawn shakes her head and she grabs his arm, pulling him away from the window. "We can't just sit here and wait! What if that barrier fails. We could just get back in the car, keep going, try to lose them. They can't run forever, can they?"

"We can't leave Buffy and Faith behind," Willow reminds her from where she's still sitting on the floor. "Faith told us to come here and wait for them."

"How long are we supposed to wait for? What if they don't make it out of there alive?"

"We'll wait for a day," Giles says with a heavy sigh. "If there is no sign of them, we'll make our escape."

"What about the Bringers?" Kennedy asks. "What if they show up and the barrier holds. They know we're in here. They're not just going to stand down and let us walk away after a day."

"We need a better plan," Willow chips in, taking Dawn's side on the matter.

Giles shakes his head and returns to the window, watching as the first of the two dozen Bringers that had been chasing them outside of town make their descent towards the abandoned gas station.

He doesn't want to say it as he sees other creatures they've never seen before coming up behind the Bringers. He knows now this is the end. He doesn't want to say it, doesn't want to alarm the others. They'll want to die fighting. It's what he wants and he knows that's what they'd want. It's die fighting or die a coward.

And they are all anything but cowards.

* * *

Buffy takes a deep breath as she watches Faith use the orb, effectively disappearing before her very eyes. Faith convinced her that Willow had made it so they could still see and communicate with each other while under the spell. Buffy takes another deep breath before breaking the orb over her left shoulder. She feels tingly all over and slowly she sees Faith take form in front of her, just where she last saw her as she disappeared.

"Holy shit," Faith mutters under her breath. "Intense, right?"

"Right. Let's go."

Buffy takes the lead, walking straight up to the front doors of what used to be Sunnydale High School. She can feel the energy of the Hellmouth, stronger than ever, but she's trying so hard not to let it get to her. She knows if she does, she'll wig and they'll never make it. She looks back at Faith, watching as she takes the axe off her back and grips it tight. Buffy looks down at the scythe in her hands and takes a deep breath before walking through the front doors, careful to step over the broken debris and only walking where she knows they won't make a sound.

It takes her a moment for her eyes to adjust in the dark as night hallway. Up ahead and around the corner she can make out the flickering light coming from candles or torches. Likely both. The hair on the back of her neck stands up as they approach the corner and peer around it. There are hundreds of Turok-Han walking around, some just standing there, others growling and snarling at one another. They aren't going to make it past them. There's barely any room to walk.

"Gotta find another way to that door, B," Faith whispers as she pulls Buffy back. "Come on, there's gotta be another way."

"Sewers?"

"Could be our best bet. Could be a death trap too."

"I have an idea," Buffy says and motions for Faith to follow her up to the second floor, careful to step around the rotting bodies of a handful of Turok-Han that have been there since they lost their fight. She heads for the custodian closet and it's locked. Taking a quick look around, she busts the door and pulls Faith inside, closing it quickly in case any Turok-Han heard the noise and would be coming to investigate it.

"A closet, B?"

"Look," she points to the large air ducts. "They all lead down to the basement."

"Smart thinking, B."

"Thanks. Let's move and try to be quiet."

"Don't gotta tell me twice."

Buffy removes the grate that's just large enough for them to fit through. Carefully she makes her way down the air duct, looking back up at Faith as she tries to put the grate back on. She looks below her and although its dark, she knows this is pretty much a straight drop to the basement. They move slowly and as quietly as they can, the only sounds that either can hear are the sounds of every deep breath they take.

It takes them nearly ten minutes to reach the basement and there's already a hole blasted through the bottom of the duct. Buffy tentatively makes her way out and into the boiler room, or what's left of it. She looks back at Faith as she exits the duct and stretches.

"Which way?" Faith asks her and Buffy takes a few deep breaths, trying to get her head clear, trying to think. "Scratch that, B. Just let it lead us."

"You feel it too, don't you?"

"That pull? The energy? I do," Faith replies with a nod. "Let's make this quick, yeah? Kinda wanna get this done and get the hell outta town. Alive."

Buffy focuses on that energy coming from the Hellmouth beyond the seal and lets it lead her. Faith stays close, almost taking her hand in her own a few times before stopping herself. After the third time it happens, Buffy takes Faith's hand and intertwines their fingers, smiling back at her a little as they continue walking through the basement corridors towards the seal.

It's nearly empty down there and it's freaking Buffy out. It shouldn't be this deserted, should it? Trying as best as she can to shake it off, along with the fear that's starting to cloud her senses, she rounds the corner and spots the room where the seal was. Two Turok-Han are guarding the doorway and they're bigger than any of the others she'd ever set eyes on.

"We need a diversion," Buffy whispers as she lets go of Faith's hand.

"On it, B. I'll be right with you," she says with a sly smirk dancing over her lips and a dangerous, daring look in her eyes.

Buffy knows she should stop her from doing whatever it is she's about to do, but she also knows they didn't come this far for nothing. She watches as Faith runs down the corridor and around the corner. In a matter of seconds she hears something crash and the two Turok-Han guarding the door take off in the direction Faith ran off in. Buffy waits, holding her breath as she keeps her eyes peeled for Faith. Almost ten seconds later, Faith is sprinting towards her, a victorious smile on her face.

"Let's get this done," she says breathlessly as she heads into the room where the seal is still wide open. "At least we're alone. Might not be for very long."

"Right. Let's do this. Here's hoping it works?" Buffy offers out meekly and pulls out a small dagger she tucked inside her boot.

"B?" Faith says as she steps towards her, careful not to step over the edge. "Look, I just wanna say one thing before we do this. I lo-"

"Tell me when we make it out of here alive, okay?" Buffy says, stopping her as she places a finger over Faith's lips. "Let's just get this done."

Faith shakes her head and pulls her in for a deep, passionate kiss that has Buffy's head swimming in a matter of seconds. Buffy gives in, kissing her back with just as much heated passion as Faith is giving off to her. She wants to see this end, she wants the world to go back to the way it's been even if it won't quite be the same. She wants to see what'll happen, not just between her and Faith, but to all of it, to everything and everyone that's left.

Faith is the first to pull back and she smiles at Buffy a little bit. Buffy smiles right back and takes the dagger, slicing her palm over the faded scar from when they'd done this twenty-two days ago to open it. She hands the dagger to Faith and watches as she slices over her old scar just as she had done. Together, they hold their hands out, clasping their free hands together as they wait.

_This better work_, Buffy thinks as she wills herself to keep her eyes open.

The ground beneath them begins to rumble and shake and slowly the seal begins to close with every drop that falls. Buffy can feel Faith grip her hand tighter as they watch the seal close so very slowly. There's a howling in the distance, more of a roar as the last of the seal closes. The rumbling increases, making it hard for them to keep standing on steady feet.

"We gotta go, B. Right now!" Faith yells as the seal begins to crumble, revealing a bottomless pit of nothing below. "Buffy, come on!"

They make a run for it, heading for the stairs. The roaring above is louder now and as Faith kicks open the basement door, they see the source of it. Every single Turok-Han they had seen in that hallway, bursting into flames as the bright sunlight pours in through every once blacked out window and the holes that are forming in the roof above.

Buffy is shaking but she keeps on running right behind Faith as the ground shakes violently beneath them. This was not what her vision had shown her. Not at all. Did they do something wrong? Was it more than blood that was needed to close the seal, was is a sacrifice instead? She can't think while she's running for her life as the school crumbles behind them.

"Help me out here, B! Faith yells as she tries to lift an overturned, crushed pick-up. Buffy sees the dirt bike beneath it and is beside Faith, helping her lift it. They lift it onto its side and Faith moves quickly, pulling the dirt bike out from underneath before it falls back down. "Hope to hell this thing still works! We gotta move, fast!"

Buffy gets on the bike behind her and Faith relentlessly tries to get it to start. Ground around the school is collapsing into that deep, black hole they'd seen the Hellmouth disappear into.

"Fuck yes! Hang on! I'm gonna get us outta here!" Faith yells over the roar of the engine. Buffy wraps her arms around her as she takes off.

Buffy looks back and she realizes the ground is quickly disappearing. The sound is deafening and she pokes at Faith, who looks back briefly before taking the bike to the max.

_What is happening? Did we close it? Did we win? Are we going to make it out of here alive?_

Those were the thoughts dominating her mind as she holds tightly on to Faith. She closes her eyes, feeling as Faith dodges the debris on the road. She can't watch. She doesn't want to watch. She doesn't want to see how it all ends, how the world ends, how her life ends. She's already done that before and she's not ready to do it all over again.

Everything has been happening so fast and it's almost as if Buffy can't quite process it. She knows what she saw in her vision, how vivid and real it had felt. None of that came to be. None. Trying to push it aside, she holds her breath as Faith speeds out of town. She can feel how tense Faith is too as she tries to keep control of the bike.

The roaring comes to a sudden end and Faith nearly skids out on the bike as she brings it to a stop. Buffy doesn't want to open her eyes. Not yet. Her ears are ringing and a rush of adrenaline is flowing through her body and she's still holding on to Faith tight.

"B?" Faith says as she tried to unwrap Buffy's arms from her waist. "B? It's all good. We're safe. Check it out," she tries again and Buffy lets out the breath she's been holding and slowly opens her eyes. She lets go of Faith and they get off the bike and turn to look at the newly formed crater in the ground. "Holy shit! Is it over?"

"I-what happened, Faith?"

"We closed it then it started like crumbling. Whatever happened, I think we finally won."

Buffy shakes as she looks at her former home. Faith slings an arm casually around her shoulders and smiles at her, feeling victorious. Quite opposite from what Buffy is feeling.

"Oh, we gotta end this spell. No need for it anymore," Faith says and she digs out her pack of cigarettes from the front pocket of her jeans. "Sit alica finietur."

Buffy repeats the words and kneels to the ground, breathing heavily as she sees her shadow appear on the road in front of her. She can faintly hear the roar of the Turok-Han as they're destroyed by the sunlight. She looks up at the sky and feels a single tear slide down her cheeks. The sky is blue and clear and it's not nearly as hot as it's been. The air smells cleaner too.

Maybe they really did win.

"Fuck," Faith laughs as she sits on the ground next to Buffy and lights a cigarette. "Makes ya kinda wish ya had that vision sooner, huh?"

"We need to get to the others," Buffy mutters under her breath, but doesn't move from where she's knelt. "We have to make sure they're okay."

"We're walking those twenty miles," Faith says and Buffy whips her head to look at her with her jaw slightly dropped. "No gas left. Did we luck out or what? Just got us outta there before we were swallowed up whole."

"I'm not counting any of my chickens before they hatch."

"Huh?"

"I'm not going to celebrate any of this, or feel happy we made it out alive until I know the others are okay, Faith. You shouldn't either. It's not right."

Faith nods her head and stands up, taking a long drag of her cigarette before holding her hand out to Buffy. Buffy lets her pull her to her feet and they begin the long, twenty mile walk to where Giles, Willow, Dawn, and Kennedy are supposed to be.

Faith hasn't let go of her hand since she helped her up. Buffy makes sure the scythe is still strapped to her back, just as it was before and it is. It seems silly, but it's one weapon she knows she can't lose. The power that came from it, the power that awakened all those potentials and turned them into slayers all over the world was just too much to let it go like it was another weapon that could be easily replaced. The scythe provided life, in a sense. Buffy knows she's starting to feel a much deeper connection to it than she ever thought was possible.

Buffy can't help but smile though at how happy Faith is right now that they made it out alive. She only wishes she could feel it too, but deep down she knows there's nothing to be happy about. They're not out of the woods just yet regardless of all the very visual changes that have already happened all around them.

She leans more into Faith as they continue their walk down the deserted two-lane road. She can only hope and pray that the others made it out, that they're still alive.

Yet deep down, she knows it isn't how it is.

* * *

Faith hasn't let go of Buffy's hand since they started out on their twenty mile trek. From what she can tell, they've made good time and the gas station she told the others to meet them at could just faintly be seen ahead. She's been trying to keep her spirits up, keep the hope alive, keep a smile on her face that they got the hell outta Sunnydale before it became nothing but a crater in the ground.

But something keeps bothering her. She knows something is wrong.

She keeps pushing it aside, hoping it's just her fear getting to the best of her and not that gut instinct feeling she's always tried to ignore when things got really bad.

She's got to believe, for Buffy's sake, that the others are safe and still alive. She has to. She can already see the pain and heartbreak in Buffy's eyes every time they randomly look at each other. It hurts so much to see that Buffy has lost hope when it comes to the others. Faith has never seen her like this and she always hoped, especially when everything had fallen apart, that she never would have to see her like this.

"How much further?" Buffy asks tiredly as she slows her pace until she comes to a stop, letting go of Faith's hand in the process.

"Not much. Look," Faith says as she points off in the distance. "Not that much further to go, B."

"Oh."

"They'll be okay," she says in a whisper, trying to make herself believe it too. "Come on, let's keep going."

Faith has been trying not to over-analyze what took place at the seal. She knows some of Buffy's vision and yet she keeps getting the feeling that Buffy is doubting everything that just happened. Did they win or is this just a fluke? The clear blue skies and fresh, cool air could just be a trick, just another trick the First is playing on them. What if it's true? What if it is a trick? The First could just be waiting for that one moment their guard is down and _bam_! That's it. They're done for.

Faith reaches for Buffy hand again and Buffy instantly has her fingers intertwined with hers. It brings a small smile to Faith's face. Just the simplest little form of contact speaks volumes between them. She knows this and she's trying so hard not to read too much into it too.

Christ, she almost told Buffy she _loved_ her before they let those first drops of blood fall. It was a heat of the moment thing, sure but she still wanted to tell her, even now. Trying to figure out what kind of sense it made to tell her, she remembered what Buffy told her when she stopped her. To tell her after they made it out of there and here they are, an hour or so later and she's still trying to figure out if she should say it or just let it go.

Saying it could have one of two outcomes. Good or bad. Not saying it had one outcome, for their lives to be as it was even before they were together.

Deciding to screw it all and just finally, for once in her whole life be honest, she stops Buffy from walking any further and turns her until they're face to face.

"B, I uh, kinda want to tell you what I was about to tell you before."

"If you tell me you love me, I already know, Faith."

Faith's jaw drops a little as she's rendered into silence. She shakes her head as she takes a step closer to Buffy, not sure if Buffy truly understands where she's coming from.

"I love you, that's a given and I'm pretty sure ya knew that even before, you know," she says, wiggling her eyebrows a little. It gets a slight laugh out of Buffy too. "I'm in love with you, Buffy. Can't help it. Can't fight it. Can't stop it. Can't just ignore it and hope to hell it all goes away. Just thought you oughta know that."

Faith shakes her head, looking away from the shocked and dumbfounded look on Buffy's face.

"All I ever wanted was to be honest with ya, Buffy. Here I am, being honest with ya."

"I-I know, Faith. I'm just-I can't-not until I know," she whispers as she leans in close to her, their lips barely brushing as she speaks. "Whatever happens, I want you here. With me."

"I'll be here with you no matter what, B," Faith whispers and she kisses her softly.

She keeps wondering when she became this person, the romantic sappy type who is more than just about the thrill of the game, sex being the game. Buffy is different. Always has been to her and she feels it's about damn time she knew that. She's not afraid anymore. She stopped being afraid the first time they kissed.

That was the kiss that changed everything. Changed everything between them. Changed how Faith looked at the world, even as fucked up as it's been. Buffy breathed a new life into her and she knows that no matter what lies ahead, she's not ever going to give up again and she won't let Buffy give up either.

They break apart slowly, both with a small smile curling over their lips as they do. Faith takes Buffy's hand in hers again and they continue the walk down the road to the gas station a couple miles up ahead.

Faith feels like she's in over her head. She wants to give Buffy all that she can-and then some, but she keeps getting this feeling that maybe it isn't what Buffy wants. Maybe Buffy just came to her in a moment of desperation, of need, and because she was willing to give in.

Buffy is the only one in the entire world that ever spun her emotions round and round this way. She loves it and hates it all at once, yet at the same time she's tired of holding back.

The closer they get to the gas station, the more Faith feels this sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that just won't go away. She knows what they're about to walk into isn't of the good. She's still trying to hold on to any shred of hope that her gut instinct is wrong.

"Oh my god," Buffy cries out when they reach the gas station. It's worse than it looked in the distance. The gas bar shack barely standing, a fire burning in the bushes next to it and blood. Too. Much. Blood. "Dawn! Willow!"

"Buffy, wait!" Faith yells but Buffy doesn't stop.

And just like that the whole world comes crashing down.

Faith can only stand by as she watches Buffy discover the lifeless body of her sister just inside the doorway of what's left of the shack. Buffy's silence is deafening to her. She can hear the screams that are going inside of her right in that moment. Her heart is breaking as she watches Buffy hold Dawn's lifeless, bloody body tight to her, whispering her love for her and wishing for the day they'll see each other again.

Faith takes in her surroundings, right off the bat noticing a few dead Bringers around the perimeter. She takes a walk, grabbing her short broadsword from her belt, sensing there's still danger lurking about. Bringers killed Dawn. She knows this now. She's dead set on revenge and won't stop until every last one of them that are still alive are dead.

"Oh god," Buffy wails as she lets Dawn's body drop to the ground. "Faith!"

"B?" Faith goes running to her and kneels at her side, wrapping her arms around her tightly. "Shit, I'm sorry."

"They're all-they're all dead," she cries and she clings to Faith tightly.

Faith looks inside what's left of the shack and looks at Willow's body, lifeless and bloody just as Dawn's is. Kennedy is next to her and Giles not far from either of them. There are a few dead Bringers near them as well. A surge of anger floods through her as she pulls Buffy to her feet. This is too much. Too fucking much. They went too far, killing those that meant the most to both of them.

"B? Buffy, come on, we gotta get outta here," Faith says as she clings to Buffy too. "Come on. We gotta go."

"Go where?"

"Dunno. Anywhere but here."

She ain't sure where they're going or where they'll end up. The end of the world had come twice, once by losing to the First Evil and its army and again by winning and losing all those that matter most to them, their friends. _Family_.

Faith knew she'd be there until the world ended, she knew that right from the start when she arrived in Sunnydale to help them in this fight. She just didn't know she'd be there when hers and Buffy's world ended, the only one that mattered most would be gone forever.

Trying to find any ounce of strength left in her, not for herself, but for Buffy, she pulls Buffy close, holding her from collapsing to the ground and whispers a promise that they'll get their revenge. They'll make all those who deserve to pay for the lives just lost pay with their own and then some.

* * *

The end of the world should've been with a bang. No survivors. Evil ruling the world and hundreds of millions of demons coming forth, reclaiming the world as their own. That wasn't the case. Because of Buffy's fleeting and not so accurate vision, she and Faith had managed to save the world from a much worse fate.

Sadly that was not the case of their friends-their _family_.

Neither will forget. They have each other, which in the beginning they never thought it'd be when the end came. But here they are, alone together.

And despite the hardships that stand in their way, they're gonna make it.

Until the world ends yet again...

.

The End


End file.
